Robert Shwartzman is officially on his way to the NTT IndyCar Series. The 25-year-old was announced to drive PREMA Racing’s second car beginning next season. Shwartzman won the Formula 3 championship with the Italian team in 2019, and finished runner-up to Oscar Piastri in 2021 for the Formula 2 title. His current role has been as a Formula 1 test driver for Ferrari, while also doing some sportscar races for the prancing horse.

Shwartzman tested with Chip Ganassi’s team two years ago and was impressive. He will now join Callum Ilott in the debut IndyCar season for PREMA. The two-car team will be facing an uphill battle all season, but they have a great one-two punch with talent and experience. The learning curve for Shwartzman may prove to be difficult, but that is life in IndyCar. The full press release from today is below.

[PREMA Racing Press Release]

PREMA Racing announced that Robert Shwartzman will join the team for its new journey in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES. It will be a welcomed comeback for the team, and a new chapter in a competitive, successful, and versatile career.

Robert Shwartzman was born in Tel Aviv, 25 years ago. He began karting at the age of 4 and competed professionally since the age of seven, achieving multiple titles in the 60 Mini, KF3 and KFJ classes. After taking his first steps in Formula 4 and Formula Renault, ending up third in both championships, he made the move to the FIA Formula 3 European Championship with PREMA.

Shwartzman made his first INDYCAR foray in 2022 and had the chance to test at Sebring International Raceway. Captivated by the car and racing style of the series, he set sights on a possible future there and, when PREMA Racing announced its entry, things evolved naturally.

“I think I chose INDYCAR for two main reasons. One is a team that I have won with, I know and really trust. The second is a series that has the best racing at the moment. I like proper racing and I want to enjoy it. Obviously, the ovals will be the biggest challenge. I’ve never driven there. I just know that it’s super fast and really interesting. I believe that if we do a good job in terms of the team and car preparation, we’re going to be very strong on all the other tracks and will be quick learners on the ovals. For that reason, having people with different backgrounds is definitely a good thing. At the same time, it’s very important to have people with American racing expertise.”

Shwartzman joined the highly-competitive FIA Formula 3 European Championship in 2018 as a rookie, and after the early adaptation phase, he delivered two wins, three poles, and 11 podium finishes overall. The same year, he joined the Ferrari Driver Academy. He finished third overall, and was the best rookie.

The 2019 season led to the introduction of a new Formula 3 concept, with a higher competitive level and more powerful cars to implement the FIA-sanctioned ladder towards Formula 1. After claiming the Toyota Racing Series during the winter as a preparation for the new effort, Shwartzman posted three wins and 10 podium finishes to achieve the inaugural FIA Formula 3 Championship title.

Shwartzman stayed with PREMA for his FIA Formula 2 Championship debut in 2020. Despite having to cope with the tragic loss of his father, he soon delivered two Feature Race wins to which he added two Sprint Race wins in Spa and Bahrain en-route to fourth place in points. In the same year, he was the driver with the most wins in the series. In 2021, he posted two more wins and eight podiums to finish as a runner-up to the eventual champion, teammate Oscar Piastri.

In 2020, Shwartzman made his Formula 1 testing debut with Scuderia Ferrari, continuing to test with the Italian squad and Haas F1 Team the following year. In 2022, he was appointed as a test driver by Scuderia Ferrari and made several free practice appearances with the Italian squad. In 2023, he joined Ferrari’s official F1 reserve driver pool and was confirmed for 2024, entering six free practice 1 sessions in total. For 2024, he ran in practice at Zandvoort and Mexico City with Stake F1 Team Kick Sauber.

“The F1 experience will definitely help with INDYCAR. Being there, watching what they were doing, it’s a very high level of competition and in general as a working environment. The things that Formula 1 teams do, and how they work as a team are very impressive and you can definitely learn a lot. In addition, when you drive such a fast car that is capable of incredible things, you learn how to react quicker and that carries over to other types of cars. Obviously, with INDYCAR, it’s a bit different because of the ovals, and especially Indy, where there are incredibly high speeds as well. But even in that case, you need to be super smooth, precise, and quick and that’s something that F1 can train you with.”

Having been part of the Ferrari camp since his F3 days, Shwartzman was a natural fit for the manufacturer’s endurance endeavors. In 2023, he joined AF Corse for the GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup, posting a brilliant win in the final round of the season in Barcelona, and then moved up to the FIA World Endurance Championship driving the #83 Ferrari 499P Hypercar.

In addition to gaining invaluable experience and insight into a different type of racing from what he was used to, Shwartzman and his teammates shared a sensational overall win in Austin’s Lone Star Le Mans. The endurance outings were complemented with other activities including Formula E testing and thorough simulator work, which made Shwartzman one of the best all-rounders in business.