He's raced F3 and F2, including a stint with Europe's top junior team Prema, tackled F1 test and reserve driver duties, conquered endurance classics like Spa, and is now spearheading Prema Racing's ambitious IndyCar debut.
Join us for a deep dive with Callum as he shares the inside story of building an IndyCar operation from the ground up. What are the unique challenges for a European powerhouse entering the fiercely competitive American scene? How does the driving and team philosophy differ? And what does it take to adapt your skills across everything from high downforce F2 cars to IndyCar machines on bumpy street circuits?
Callum opens up about his diverse career path, the "unfinished business" of wanting to prove himself and why that brought him back to IndyCar, and the dedication required to turn a brand new team into a winner. Hear his honest take on the expectations surrounding Prema, the reality of starting from scratch, and his personal drive to achieve success in the NTT IndyCar Series. Plus, find out what makes Prema feel like a familiar Italian family even on the other side of the Atlantic.
Don't miss this insider perspective on one of IndyCar's most anticipated new entries and the versatile driver at its core.
Introduction [0:00]
Callum: There's a reason I was a racing driver and it wasn't because I was amazing to start with, it was because I was shit at everything else. Prema, you were able to take every driver and make them into the best that they can be. I just want to build on this, I to win some races. I want to give these guys some success as well.
Who is Callum Ilott? [0:24]
Greg: I'm Greg, welcome back to another episode of Fan Amp Insider. I'm joined with Josh. we are here in Long Beach, California with none other than Prema Racing driver, Callum Ilott.
Callum: Thank you for having me!
Greg: How's your weekend been so far?
Conor: It's been good. It's been good. It's a lovely place to be and we've got a nice hospitality here. It's nice. I'm enjoying it. I always love this place.
Greg: For those who don't know you, who is Callum Ilott?
Callum: So yeah, I've raced in IndyCar, raced in WEC, Formula 2, Formula 3, done a bit of Formula 1 stuff, never got to race it, unfortunately. But yeah, I've been around, I've done a bit. I've experienced most of it. It's part of my life since I was seven years old. I won a lot of stuff in karting, won some races in many different things, but never a championship, except the Hypercar privateer side of things.
Josh: For you, was your family into racing? Is it just something that you kind of fell into?
Callum: I kind of fell into it. yeah, my mom and dad were never in racing. No one in my family was ever in racing. And I think I went to like a go-karting birthday party and really enjoyed it and didn't shut up about it. My dad used to work in London and he'd take the train every day into London and go past the track that I started. I ended up starting out, but I did the first day out. And he took me there, took me back a couple of times. The guy was like, the track was saying, if you want to do it more cost effectively, you need to buy your own go kart. He lied because it wasn't cost effective. No, he actually trained me for my first couple of years, his name is Steve Cutting. He is a good dude and like he started me off in the world of racing and just grew from there. But I think the one thing for me was like my dad let me try a load of different sports and like from football, cricket, rugby, the standard school sports we'd play to tennis, to trying to find something that I loved and gelled with.
Josh: With all those sports that you did growing up, if you were done with racing and had to choose a different sport, what would it be?
Callum: It wouldn't have been sports! There's a reason I was a racing driver and it wasn't because I was amazing to start with, it was because I was shit at everything else.
Greg: You then move directly into the Formula Series out of karting. What was it like taking that jump?
Callum: That was quite a tough one. I didn't really know at the time, so that was with Red Bull and the Red Bull Junior team. It was just after Max Verstappen had gone from karting to Formula 3, and then obviously into Formula 1, and they wanted to do the same at Red Bull, and I don't blame them, but Max is a once-in-a-lifetime talent. And yeah, I got into Formula 3, and I did a solid job for the first year with quite a small amount of testing and exposure to cars at the time, but it wasn't quite enough to continue with Red Bull, unfortunately, but still cool. Like to go straight into a high downforce car. And for me, like the Formula 3 car was always one, if you threw me in it tomorrow, I feel at home again. It was one that just was such a good car, a bit underpowered, but so light, great downforce. yeah, I took a couple of years of a Formula 3, but I gelled with that one quite well.
Greg: You also ended up with Prema.
Callum: Yes, so Prema was the last team that I drove for in Formula 3 full-time and I clearly left enough of an impression to come back to them several years later.
Greg: Is there something you like remember from that moment in those days?
Callum: I didn't quite execute on the racing side, like I needed to improve a bit on the starts, I needed to improve a bit on the race craft, but I was super, super fast and they had a great car and the year before they were dominating, my year we kind of stunted a bit and they could come back the next year and improve again and again and again and that was one thing with Prema that other than the friendliness that was within it, the competitiveness and the room to always improve and I think they just, we're in a bit of a different situation now, but they were able to take every driver and get the best out of them.
Obviously we're building something from the ground up here, so it's a completely different style, but yeah, on the European side and what they're used to, they can just take drivers from every background and make them into the best that they can be, which is why there's so many of them in Formula One now that have been with Prema.
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