PREMA RACING SET TO MISS FIRST FOUR RACES OF THE 2026 INDYCAR SEASON
Questions about PREMA Racing’s future in IndyCar began soon after the end of the 2025 season. During the offseason, several reports suggested the Italian team was unsure about its plans for 2026.
PREMA joined IndyCar in 2025 as the 11th team on the grid. Overall, the season was difficult. While struggles were expected from a new team, results were limited, with the main highlight being Robert Shwartzman’s pole position at the Indianapolis 500.
Concerns increased when it was revealed that PREMA’s parent company, DC Racing Solutions, was dealing with financial problems. IndyCar president Doug Boles later confirmed that the series had offered support to help PREMA find a way to stay on the grid for 2026.
After leaving the team in recent days, the previous boss René Rosin also confirmed that senior management is in discussions and looking for solutions. According to recent reports, PREMA is likely to miss the opening four races and could return at the Grand Prix of Long Beach, the fifth round of the season.
IndyCar reporter Tony Donohue supported this view, writing on X that PREMA is expected to appear on the grid for the first time in 2026 at the Californian round, even if only in a limited capacity.
More warning signs have appeared behind the scenes. Driver coach Ryan Briscoe has already left PREMA to join Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing. In Europe, the situation also looks unstable: long-time and highly respected Formula 2 race engineer Pedro Matos has left the team, along with Guillaume Capietto, who served as technical director for PREMA’s Formula 2 and Formula 3 programs. These departures suggest broader problems across the organization, not just in IndyCar.
It was also confirmed that PREMA drivers Callum Ilott and Robert Shwartzman will miss the preseason conference on January 27 and 28. If the team does return, both drivers are under contract from 2025, though it is unclear whether those contracts would still apply if the team changes ownership.
Speaking at the 24 Hours of Daytona, Callum Ilott explained that the cars at the factory were not close to being ready for testing at Sebring and Phoenix in February. He said it would be very difficult to assemble full crews and rebuild the cars in time, as they had been stripped down and slowly rebuilt over the winter.
Ilott added that management is working hard to find a solution and that he is confident the team will race eventually. However, he described preseason testing as unlikely, noting that the cars were still far from ready. The 2026 IndyCar season is scheduled to begin on March 1 at the Grand Prix of St. Petersburg.
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