IndyCar is welcoming PREMA to the grid for next season as the Italian team will make their debut campaign with two Chevrolet-powered cars.
They have been very successful in the junior categories below Formula 1, developing race winners Charles Leclerc and Oscar Piastri.
They should make a very important addition to the grid, as the team may attract some much-needed European fans.
PREMA should also be competitive, with Callum Ilott returning to the championship full-time alongside Robert Shwartzman. Ilott is eagerly anticipating racing with PREMA after racing in WEC this year.
Marshall Pruett explained on RACER that other teams have been trying to gain entry. This includes Abel Motorsports, which couldn’t because they weren’t granted one important item.
Abel Motorsports couldn’t join IndyCar as they wanted to join with just one car
Abel Motorsports have been very successful in the Formula Regional Americas Championship, leading IndyCar race winner Kyle Kirkwood to the championship in 2018.
The team have also had more recent success in Indy NXT as they finished third in the team’s standings this season behind Andretti and HMD Motorsports.
Alongside their extensive commitments in the junior categories, they have competed at the Indy 500 last season with R. C. Enerson in a one-off entry.
Pruett explained that despite being successful, they weren’t being given an engine lease for a single-car entry to IndyCar.
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He said: “Nobody was willing to give Abel an engine lease for a single-car entry, which is how the team wanted to start out. It was two or nothing.
“Rather than working to help an invested Indy NXT team owner to get a lease, the series fell in behind newcomers who were willing to do two.
“Fair enough. That’s their choice, but Chip Ganassi started with one car. Dale Coyne started with one car. Mike Shank started with one car. Bobby Rahal started with one, etc. Loyal folks to IndyCar, and look where they are today.”
Some smaller teams have struggled in recent seasons to compete at the front in IndyCar
Abel Motorsports qualified for the 107th Running of the Indy 500 when it competed with a single car in 2023.
It was very impressive to make the field and qualify ahead of Graham Rahal, who got bumped out of the field at The Brickyard, but retired with a mechanical failure.
Carlin also had an IndyCar team alongside their commitments on the road to Formula 1. They began in 2018 with talented drivers such as Max Chilton.
The British team left the championship at the end of 2021 and sold its assets to Juncos Hollinger Racing. PREMA will have a very difficult task, and adapting to ovals may be a culture shock.