Prema Racing will discipline Robert Shwartzman alongside Callum Ilott for its maiden IndyCar marketing campaign in 2025, bringing collectively two drivers the Italian squad had success with in junior formulation.
It is a new profession path for Shwartzman, who gained the FIA F3 championship in 2019 and was the F2 runner-up in F2 two years later – each instances with Prema – however by no means made it to the Components 1 grid.
Having been an F1 check then reserve driver for Ferrari within the final three years, Shwartzman raced for the prancing horse with affiliated outfit AF Corse within the GT World Problem Europe Endurance Cup in 2023.
The 25-year-old subsequently joined the WEC’s Hypercar class this 12 months in a Ferrari 499P, profitable at Circuit of the Americas with team-mates Robert Kubica and Yifei Ye whereas taking ninth place within the drivers’ standings.
Shwartzman now takes on a brand new problem in IndyCar and is conscious that mastering many new tracks in addition to the crew’s Chevrolet-powered Dallara will put him to the check.
“The whole lot will probably be new to us and there will probably be many challenges, however it can even be lots of enjoyable and lots of work on the similar time,” the Russian-Israeli mentioned. “I feel a really profitable future lies forward for us.
“IndyCar is a really aggressive collection, with so many robust drivers, and I’m wanting ahead to the racing, because it appears to be like actually cool.
“I’ve by no means pushed on ovals and to grasp them, it is going to be a totally new problem.
Robert Shwartzman, Prema Racing
Photograph by: Sam Bloxham / Motorsport Photographs
Nonetheless, with Prema we achieved lots up to now, and I feel that my F1 and endurance expertise will probably be useful to make us evolve quick and stand up to hurry rapidly.”
Prema crew proprietor Rene Rosin branded Shwartzman “an especially gifted driver”, including: “I feel that, by working collectively, we can overcome the steep studying curve that lies forward of us.”
In the meantime, Prema’s IndyCar CEO Piers Phillips concurred: “Robert has a really spectacular resume and has been aggressive all over the place he went, from single-seaters to GT and prototypes.
“We expect his expertise and flexibility will assist him significantly, and also will assist our crew to be taught sooner and be extra environment friendly.”
Phil Hanson has signed to successfully change Shwartzman within the buyer AF Corse-run 499P subsequent 12 months, and is more likely to be joined by incumbents Ye and Kubica – who told Autosport at last weekend’s Bahrain WEC finale that he “didn’t come right here for only one 12 months”.