PREMA has nearly completed its first season fielding a pair of entries in the NTT IndyCar Series, and the team has been adapting its approach to match the American series’ unique demands.
The organization has been very successful competing in various European racing series over the past four decades, and decided to bring its efforts stateside in 2025.
The team found some unexpected challenges, but has largely risen to the task against teams that have many decades of experience specifically in the American open wheel scene.
MotorsportWeek.com talked with Callum Ilott, PREMA’s experienced driver, to gauge how well he and the team have been adapting their approach to better suit the IndyCar dynamic.
“We did have to have quite a big philosophy change early on in the year,” said Ilott. “From that point onwards, maybe Barber or slightly after, it’s gotten quite a lot better. That was a lot on the team, a bit on me, just pushing for a good direction.
“We’ve still got a lot on the European side. But the philosophy is not ingrained in the cultural side, just which way we need to go over the car.
“Maybe we did start with an inherently European philosophy just because of the way the tracks and cars are in Europe, but I wouldn’t say… It’s just different. It’s not a cultural thing.”
Rocky start followed by improvement
From the start, PREMA’s IndyCar operations have shown telltale signs of its European heritage.
The team produced a special live-streamed event to unveil its liveries for the season and has had a notable hospitality presence at every track from their very first race. Both of which are typically reserved for only the most established IndyCar teams.
The actual business of building a competitive race car had a rough start, however. Before the season even began, word came that the team’s relationship with veteran engineer Michael Cannon had fallen apart.
Cannon was a major point of reference to bring the team up to speed with the inner workings of IndyCar, but he felt that his advice was largely being ignored and he moved on after only a couple months working together.
The team has worked hard since then at adapting to the realities of its new challenge, and the results in recent races have reflected that effort.

“Clearly [we have been working better together],” continued Ilott to MotorsportWeek.com. “We have a few top 10s, which we’ve been pushing and pushing for. It’s finally nice to be rewarded and satisfied with the jobs we’ve been doing. It’s good.
“Trying to carry on into the ovals, which I think we’ll be good at but it’s a bit of an unknown. I haven’t been to both of them yet, so they’re new for me too.”
PREMA’s biggest accomplishments to date include a shock Indianapolis 500 pole with its rookie driver Robert Shwartzman and three consecutive top 10 finishes with Ilott in the most recent three events.
The team has bigger ambitions, however, and gives every indication that it plans to put in the resources necessary to aim for stronger results in the years to come.
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