We have had a few weeks since the 2025 NTT IndyCar Series season concluded, and that leads us to our annual team-by-team wrap-ups. The 2025 season was the first season for the Prema organization. After a long and successful spell in European junior series, Prema's IndyCar introduction started with some growing pains, however, the team had some notable high moments and, in a way, performed better than expectations. There is still room to grow though.
Callum Ilott
After a year in sports car racing and two cameo appearances for Arrow McLaren, Ilott's full-time return to IndyCar came with Prema. Having previously driven for Juncos Hollinger Racing when it made its full-time expansion into IndyCar, Ilott knew what it would be liking starting on the ground floor. Though he had that experience, Ilott still went through rough patches, but he found some strong form later in the year.
What objectively was his best race?
Ilott had two finishes in sixth-place this season, and they happened in consecutive races. The first was at Laguna Seca and the next was at Portland. They were part of a three-race top ten finish streak after he had finished eighth in Toronto, and Ilott had four top ten finishes in the final five races.
What subjectively was his best race?
It is hard to pick between Laguna Seca and Portland because in both races he started 24th and finished sixth. Both results came from an alternate pit strategy. He had great pace at Laguna Seca, and it could have been a little better if his final pit stop wasn't a little slow. At Portland, he again had good pace and kept him at the front.
I lean toward Portland being a little better than Laguna Seca, but they were both strong performances.
What objectively was his worst race?
Technically, it is the Indianapolis 500 because Ilott's car was disqualified for having illegal front wing end plates. Ilott was classified in 33rd despite finishing 12th on the road. He has finished 26th twice without any penalty. Those came at Thermal Club and Detroit.
What subjectively was his worst race?
Technically, it is the Indianapolis 500 because Ilott's car was disqualified for having illegal front wing end plates. Ilott was classified in 33rd despite finishing 12th on the road. He has finished 26th twice without any penalty. Those came at Thermal Club and Detroit.
What subjectively was his worst race?
At Detroit, Ilott was looking positioned for a top fifteen finish, which would have been a good boost since, until that point and thanks to the Indianapolis penalty, was something Ilott had yet to achieve. However, one long pit stop shuffled him back, and then on the next pit stop the team did not get the wheel nut on the left front tire secured, leading Ilott to slam into the turn one barrier.
Callum Ilott's 2025 Statistics
Championship Position: 21st (218 points)
Wins: 0
Podiums: 0
Top Fives: 0
Top Tens: 4
Laps Led: 5
Poles: 0
Fast Sixes: 0
Fast Twelves: 2
Average Start: 19.411
Average Finish: 18.4705
Wins: 0
Podiums: 0
Top Fives: 0
Top Tens: 4
Laps Led: 5
Poles: 0
Fast Sixes: 0
Fast Twelves: 2
Average Start: 19.411
Average Finish: 18.4705
Robert Shwartzman
Shwartzman came to IndyCar from sports car racing, like Ilott, but it had been a few years since Shwartzman last competed in open-wheel racing. A successful driver in Formula Two and Formula Three, Shwartzman looked to reignite the success that brought him on the verge of Formula One through the Ferrari development program. IndyCar was entirely new for Shwartzman, but he had some standout days, including one no one saw coming.
What objectively was his best race?
It was ninth in the second Iowa race. This came partially because Shwartzman had not yet made his final pit stop when the caution came out for Colton Herta getting into the barrier. It aided Shwartzman in getting his best finish of the season, but he had some strong moments in that race.
It was ninth in the second Iowa race. This came partially because Shwartzman had not yet made his final pit stop when the caution came out for Colton Herta getting into the barrier. It aided Shwartzman in getting his best finish of the season, but he had some strong moments in that race.
What subjectively was his best race?
Gateway wasn't some staggeringly, impressive race, but with how that race was ending, Shwartzman and his team decided to make his last pit stop as late as it could, stopping with 15 laps to go. This lifted him to a tenth-place finish, his first top ten finish in IndyCar, and Prema's first top ten finish.
What objectively was his worst race?
You know, it seems weird that in Shwartzman's best we never mentioned he won pole position for the Indianapolis 500, and he did that, and it was a stunning performance after everyone had penciled in at least one if not both Prema cars for the last row shootout with one of the two cars the favorite for missing the race.
You know, it seems weird that in Shwartzman's best we never mentioned he won pole position for the Indianapolis 500, and he did that, and it was a stunning performance after everyone had penciled in at least one if not both Prema cars for the last row shootout with one of the two cars the favorite for missing the race.
Instead, Shwartzman got quicker every day at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Ilott qualified without much issue and an early qualifying draw helped Shwartzman make the Fast 12. Then he made the Fast Six. In the last qualifying session of the day, Shwartzman completed the improbable and put Prema on pole position for its Indianapolis 500 debut. It will standout for years to come regardless of what he and Prema do for the remainder of their time in IndyCar.
Let's get to the worst part of it, and that is Shwartzman's race ended after 87 laps when he had an accident entering his pit box and hit a few crew members as well. And that wasn't the team's only bad pit stop of the day.
What subjectively was his worst race?
What subjectively was his worst race?
It is close between Indianapolis and Nashville.
Pit stops let Shwartzman down at Indianapolis, and the race ended in the most self-inflicted way possible. After qualifying, everyone questioned how Prema would do with pit stops as we had seen the team struggle through the first five races. The errors were a combination of team and driver, heavy emphasis on the driver to the second one that ultimately ended the race.
Shwartzman never had the race pace to be competing for the victory. We didn't really get to see how he would have done down the stretch, especially as the pit strategies splintered and a few other teams were unexpectedly at the front. For all the promise of qualifying, the race was a wake up call.
However, at Nashville, Shwartzman was running well and he was in a position to not only get a lead lap finish on an oval but finish in the top ten and overcome the eight-point deficit from Louis Foster to claim Rookie of the Year. Instead, Shwartzman took a needless blocking penalty for a move on Santino Ferrucci, served a drive-through and ended up falling two points shy of Rookie of the Year.
If Shwartzman had remained on the lead lap, he would have won Rookie of the Year, which was the only thing that really mattered to him in that race.
Robert Shwartzman's 2025 Statistics
Championship Position: 24th (211 points)
Wins: 0
Podiums: 0
Top Fives: 0
Top Tens: 2
Laps Led: 8
Poles: 1
Fast Sixes: 1
Fast Twelves: 1
Average Start: 20.235
Average Finish: 18.588
Wins: 0
Podiums: 0
Top Fives: 0
Top Tens: 2
Laps Led: 8
Poles: 1
Fast Sixes: 1
Fast Twelves: 1
Average Start: 20.235
Average Finish: 18.588
An Early Look Ahead
We are not confident there is a next season to look forward to for Prema. The team has had reported financial concerns after its first year in IndyCar, and there has been talks of the program merging with another team on the grid.
Entertaining that the team will be back with two cars in 2026, it should do better than how 2025 started. For the first five races, Prema was working out the kinks. It had issues getting cars on track for practice. Once we got through the month of May, Prema had its legs underneath itself. The problem is it still struggled for speed, but the team kept making improvements, and it ended with four top ten finishes in the final five races.
There is still a great gulf between Prema and moderate success in IndyCar. Neither driver cracked the top 20 in the championship. Both cars struggled in qualifying on a regular basis. Shwartzman never made it out of the first round of qualifying on a road or street course. Both drivers had an average starting position worse than 19th.
It should get better in year two, but so many of this team's issues surround just getting to the grid. If the money isn't there, how will it be competitive?
Prema stepped into a new beast when it came to IndyCar. This isn't a European junior series where there is always a teenager with a father willing to burn millions for his boy ready to fund the program. IndyCar requires actually finding sponsors that want to be a part of your program and that see value in a partnership. Though there are plenty of drivers out there who could bring budget to IndyCar, it is unlikely to find two drivers each bringing $6-8 million who will be competitive. Prema must put in more time behind the scenes to be successful in IndyCar. It cannot copy and paste the winning formula from the ranks for Formula Two and Formula Three and achieve the right results.
This program has plenty to figure out away from the racetrack let alone on the track.
It has a good lead driver in Ilott, and four top ten finishes in five races suggests something was starting to click. These were also top ten finishes on each track discipline, a street course, two road courses and an oval. Shwartzman moved to something entirely different, stunned everyone in his first oval event, and then proceeded to score his only top ten finishes at Gateway and Iowa. Despite his prowess and success in Europe, there was not a single road or street course race where we saw Shwartzman run competitively.
But it all could be for nothing. Prema could disappear. Shwartzman could become this generation's Fabrizio Barbazza. Ilott could be off to sports cars and become a "what if." No team was going to come in and take over IndyCar in year one, but you at least wish the team could make it to year two and grow from there.
