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PREMA Racing Stuns in First IndyCar Test, Rookie Shwartzman Impresses with Blistering Pace

Arthur Ling by Arthur Ling
January 29, 2025
in Motorsports
Reading Time: 4 mins read
0
PREMA Racing Stuns in First IndyCar Test, Rookie Shwartzman Impresses with Blistering Pace

PREMA Racing has officially fired up its American dream, making its first on-track appearance in the IndyCar Series after years of dominance in European open-wheel racing. With a late but powerful start, the team finally sent its Chevrolet-powered cars onto the track just days before shipping out for its first-ever IndyCar test at The Thermal Club in California.

Despite the tight timeline and a roster of untested machinery, PREMA’s debut performance was nothing short of eye-catching. The team immediately established itself as a force to watch, with Robert Shwartzman—one of the early favorites for Rookie of the Year—hitting the top of the running order twice before finishing third-fastest overall.

PREMA Wastes No Time Making an Impact

PREMA’s first laps in IndyCar came after an extended preparation period, trading early testing miles for extra time ensuring the team’s technical and operational foundation was strong. While that delay wasn’t ideal, it paid off in spades, as Shwartzman finished just 0.175 seconds behind session leader Marcus Ericsson of Andretti Global.

Fellow PREMA driver Callum Ilott had a rockier start to his second first-day in IndyCar—previously bringing Juncos Hollinger Racing back to the series in 2021—but rebounded strong in the afternoon, posting the fourth-fastest time, only 0.247s behind Ericsson.

Callum Ilott on PREMA’s Early Strengths

Ilott, who found major success with PREMA in the Formula 1 feeder series, is back with the team in an entirely new challenge. Despite a mix of European racing veterans and new IndyCar personnel, he believes the team’s structure is already proving to be an advantage.

“For a first day, it’s probably one of the best first days you can get, even with that stuff in the morning,” Ilott said.

One of the key factors aiding PREMA’s rapid adaptation to IndyCar is Ilott’s familiarity with race engineer Steve Barker, who was previously with him at Juncos Hollinger Racing. Their established rapport has allowed Ilott to jump in and focus on performance rather than getting acclimated to new working relationships.

“Obviously, Steve was my race engineer before, so there’s a lot of familiarity there. And I think that that helps massively just to get working together,” Ilott explained.

PREMA’s Transition to IndyCar: An Engineering Challenge

PREMA Racing has built a reputation in Formula 2, Formula 3, and beyond as a team that can develop quickly and dominate—and the early results suggest that they’re bringing the same engineering excellence to IndyCar.

“This team has such a pedigree in Europe, and it’s also an adventure for them,” Ilott noted. “Even though it’s an older chassis, there’s more development that you can do compared to what they’ve run before.”

While IndyCar machinery differs significantly from F1’s more advanced cars, the series still offers room for innovation—and PREMA has a history of excelling with new challenges.

“PREMA has a great history of rocking up with new equipment and doing a good job,” Ilott added. “But like I said, there’s still a lot of work to do. This was a good first day. We’ve got a very good core engineering group. The only thing we’re missing is time.”

What’s Next for PREMA?

With The Thermal Club test in the books, PREMA now heads to WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca for its next session. The team’s rapid pace out of the gate suggests they could be contenders much sooner than expected—but as Ilott pointed out, time is their biggest enemy.

Still, if Shwartzman’s speed and Ilott’s experience are any indication, PREMA Racing could shake up the IndyCar grid much faster than anyone anticipated.

Watch out, IndyCar—the European powerhouse has arrived.

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