By Noah Poser, Staff Writer
When Robert Shwartzman took pole position for the 109th running of the Indianapolis 500 this past Sunday, he became the first rookie to do so since Teo Fabi accomplished the feat back in 1983.
1983 is also the year his team, PREMA racing, was founded in Italy.
And to top it off, Shwartzman drives the No. 83 car.
Meanwhile, PREMA is the first debut team to win pole since Mayer Motor Racing in 1984 with former Indy 500 winner Tom Sneva as the driver.
1984 is also the year PREMA competed in its first ever race as a team.
Since its formation, PREMA has become the gold standard in helping to develop young talent in Europe, having gained notoriety especially in series like Formula 2 and Formula 3. There, they gave drivers such as Charles Leclerc, Mick Schumacher, Oscar Piastri, as well as Shwartzman himself a chance to rise through the ranks of the F1 feeder system.
Today, PREMA and its two drivers, Shwartzman and teammate Callum Ilott, are set to write a new chapter in the team’s already storied history as PREMA embarks on its first Indy 500.
But before that next chapter is written, let’s take a look back on the rest of PREMA’s story so far and some of the biggest moments in team history.
1984: Racing debut in Italian Formula 3 and first win
After the team was founded in 1983, its first appearance on track came at the Gran Premio Campidoglio on March 25, 1984. Italian Gianfranco Tacchino was the team’s driver and he would go on to place third in the championship standings, winning the final race of the season at the Misano World Circuit.
2003: Debut in Formula 3 Euro Series
The team entered the inaugural season of Europe’s premier Formula 3 series under the name of Prema Powerteam with Japanese driver Katsuyuki Hiranaka and Australian driver Ryan Briscoe. Briscoe would go on to win the first race of the season at Hockenheimring and eventually won four of the first five races en route to the drivers’ title.
2011: First Macau Grand Prix win
After 23 years of trying, having entered their first Macau Grand Prix in 1988, PREMA was finally able to capture victory in the historic race with Spanish driver Daniel Juncadella behind the wheel. Coincidentally, it was fellow Spaniard and teammate Roberto Merhi who had shown more speed throughout the race weekend, but Juncadella overcame a stacked field with the likes of Valtteri Bottas, Kevin Magnussen, Carlos Sainz and Felix Rosenqvist, as well as a fair bit of carnage to secure the win.
2017: First foray into Formula 2
After debuting in what was formerly known as GP2 in 2016, PREMA took part in the inaugural Formula 2 season in 2017 with Charles Leclerc and Antonio Fuoco as their drivers. Both drivers would be victorious by season’s end, but it was Leclerc and his combined seven sprint and feature wins that would claim the drivers’ title for PREMA in dominating fashion. The team would go on to miss out on the team championship by just 15 points to competitor Russian Time.
2022: WEC and 24 Hours of Le Mans debut
This was the year PREMA started to expand above and beyond its brand as a feeder team, starting a WEC team in the LMP2 class under the name Prema Orlen Team with drivers Lorenzo Colombo, Louis Delétraz and Robert Kubica. They would finish fifth in the overall LMP2 standings, but achieved a second-place class finish in class and sixth-place finish overall in the team’s 24 Hours of Le Mans debut.
2023: Starts F1 Academy team
With the start of an all-female racing series falling under the umbrella of Formula 1, PREMA was one of five teams on the initial grid. With Spanish driver Marta García, the team would claim both the drivers’ championship and team title. They would repeat as teams’ champion again in 2024.
2025: INDYCAR debut, Indy 500 pole and Indy 500 debut
Finally, that brings the history of PREMA back to the present. After announcing its intention to field two entries in the 2025 INDYCAR season, the team struggled early in its debut campaign. After five races, the team had yet to have either driver finish better than 18th. However everything changed when Shwartzman captured pole just a week ago, and now the team is set to compete in one of motorsports’ most prestigious races.