How PREMA Racing is redefining the European junior ladder by adding IndyCar stop

Elizabeth Blackstock 07 Nov 2024 8:00 PM

PREMA Racing is already a strong force in Formula 1's junior ladder system.

When PREMA Racing announced its intentions to join IndyCar for the 2025 season, pundits speculated that the team could go one of two ways: It could stay true to its international formula racing roots by bringing European talent to IndyCar, or it could sign seasoned IndyCar veterans to get off the ground.

Though the team has managed to do a bit of both, the fact that both of PREMA Racing’s drivers for the 2025 IndyCar season are PREMA alumni shows that the team is singlehandedly bridging the chasm between American and international open-wheel racing.

PREMA carves a new path for the Formula 1 junior ladder

In the world of open-wheel motorsport, there is no better proving ground than the Formula 1 junior ladder system.

Situated primarily in Europe, that ladder program features multitudes of regional open-wheel series with packed schedules and easy access to testing days at any one of the various local race tracks. The best talents from around the world flock to Europe to compete, as Formula 1 teams vie to sign the best of the best to its young driver development programs.

A similar system doesn’t exist in America — at least not for open-wheel racing. A young driver in Europe can take his pick of a multitude of regional Formula 4 championships before progressing to regional Formula 3 series, before finally committing to international F3 and Formula 2.

In America, you can opt for one of the regional Formula 4 series, or you can enter the IndyCar feeder program, the latter of which consists of a mere handful of events. But on the way up through the IndyCar ladder, you have a single path to the top. In European junior categories, you have far more options to choose from.

More on the junior ladder system:

👉 IndyCar vs Formula 1: Junior driver development series ladders compared

👉 Ranked: The 10 best junior drivers in the world right now

While the European open-wheel ladder system is responsible for creating some incredible talent, it does come with one primary flaw: There are only 20 Formula 1 seats in any given year compared to the reams of young drivers battling for a seat — and many potential F1 seats are already ‘filled’ by one of that team’s development drivers.

The result? Plenty of talented young drivers turn away from open-wheel racing in hopes of furthering their careers.

Not every F1 season will be like 2025, where Kimi Antonelli, Oliver Bearman, Jack Doohan, and Gabriel Bortoleto will all graduate to the upper ranks of racing. Instead, talented drivers like Antonio Felix da Costa, Robin Frijns, Sam Bird, Mitch Evans, Felipe Drugovich, and so many more are left to hunt for something else.

PREMA Racing is now giving them an option to move to IndyCar.

PREMA operates in everything from karting to Formula 2, providing young drivers a chance to progress through the F1 ladder with plenty of familiar faces at their side. While the team often fields drivers from F1 development programs, PREMA has come to feel like a development program in and of itself.

Fittingly, it will kick off its IndyCar program by fielding two drivers who have raced with PREMA in the past.

Callum Ilott competed with PREMA in the 2017 Formula 3 championship, helping the outfit secure the teams’ championship for the fifth year in a row. However, the young Briton missed out on a shot at Formula 1 after finishing second in the 2020 F2 championship.

Ilott headed off to IndyCar, where his tenure with the Juncos Hollinger Racing team came to an unceremonious end after fans of his teammate Agustin Canapino began targeting Ilott on social media. He spent 2024 freelancing for Arrow McLaren before PREMA signed him to serve as their experienced candidate.

Earlier this week, the team announced it had signed Robert Shwartzman, who spent four years with PREMA in Formula 3 and Formula 2. Also a runner-up in F2, Shwartzman was unable to secure an F1 seat, leaving him to piece together a career as a test driver and endurance racer.

Both drivers had the talent to propel them through the junior formulae, but neither made it to Formula 1 in a clear case of “wrong place, wrong time.” Both had skill — there was just nowhere for them to go. And as F1 doubles down on its decision to have only 10 teams of two cars, more young drivers will inevitably face the same situation.

What PREMA has done with its IndyCar team is open up a new career path for its drivers in the open-wheel realm. It did something similar when it founded its World Endurance Championship team as well.

Now, the junior ladder extends beyond Formula 2. It may not funnel these drivers into F1, but PREMA has provided an “in” for other championships and other disciplines. And, in turn, it has helped elevate the profile of a series like IndyCar, which has become the landing pad of choice for countless drivers when they find the door to F1 closed before them.