In 1983 one of the most successful motorsport teams was born. Since then, Prema Racing have been leaving their mark on the history of feeder series.
The Winning History of Prema Racing
In the 1980s, as Nelson Piquet was winning his second F1 world title, a new team was born in the feeder series – northern Italian team, Prema Racing. Since their creation, Prema have achieved many victories and become one of the most competitive teams in the minor series.
Prema Racing have a rich history closely linked to several successful drivers whose motorsport careers began with the Italian team. Over the years, team members have forged a cohesive and competitive group.
Prema seats are often highly contested. From Formula 4 to Formula 2, drivers want to try to express their best skills with the best team.
The Beginning of Prema Racing
The story of Prema Racing began in 1983. Giorgio Piccolo and Angelo Rosin joined forces with the idea of founding their own all-Italian racing team. In their first year in the Italian Formula 3 championship, the team demonstrated the ability to achieve strong results.
In 1984, just one year after its foundation, Prema secured third place in the F3 championship with driver Gianfranco Tacchino. The team’s first victory came in the final race of the tournament in Misano. They secured their first title in 1990 with Roberto Colciago, showing the team’s capabilities.
In 1989, Jacques Villeneuve signed with Prema in the Formula 3 championship. The Canadian driver brought a lot of visibility to the team. He helped them to establish themselves in the international racing scene.
In 2000, they decided to dedicate their efforts to the Italian Formula Renault championship until 2008. The following year came two other successes. In the Formula Renault 2000 Eurocup Team Championship and the Italian Formula Renault Championship with Ryan Briscoe.
In those years began the collaboration with Toyota for the Junior Program. This helped Prema to get more funds for its equipment and his team. During this period, Kamui Kobayashi joined the team. With him, the Italian team won the Formula Renault Italy and the Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0.
From 2004 to 2010, after the debut in the Formula 3 Euro Series the previous year, the team struggled to find the right set-up to fight for victories. In 2003, they won the inaugural edition with Ryan Briscoe. However, they could only repeat this success in later years by changing their approach and focusing entirely on their results.
In 2011 and 2012 came the title victories with Roberto Mehri and Daniel Juncadella. The victory with Mehri is remembered by the team as one of the most exciting moments, after years of difficulties in the championship.
Juncadella also had a great race at the 2011 Macau Grand Prix, where he managed to win from sixth place on the gird. Thus, the driver became the first Spaniard to win a race in Macao, breaking the team’s long-standing curse in the circuit.
From 2012 to 2018, Prema stood out in the FIA Formula 3 European Championship. They won all the drivers’ titles except for 2017. During this period, Prema also began a collaboration with Mercedes for engine supply, which produced excellent results.
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The Great Achievements and The Debut in GP2
Prema’s pursuit of challenges continued as they joined the Italian Formula 4 Championship in 2014, winning in their debut season. The team quickly felt at home in the series, which became their most successful championship, resulting in a total of eight titles.
Notably, six Prema drivers, from Lance Stroll to Freddie Slater, have won the drivers’ championship in Italian Formula 4.
In 2016 their challenge was extended to GP2, the last step before Formula 1. Although the entry came a little late, given the team’s excellent results in the other categories, the great results they achieved right away were not surprising.
In their debut season, Prema closed with a 1-2 in the Drivers’ standings thanks to Pierre Gasly and Antonio Giovinazzi. The drivers fought for the title until the last race.
Meanwhile, in the team standings, Prema Racing won the championship with 172 points from Racing Engineering in second position. In Formula 2 they returned to victory the following year with Charles Leclerc. Then they struggled in the following years and won only two championships in 2020, with Mick Schumacher, and in 2021, with Oscar Piastri.
While the results in Formula 2 may appear less impressive compared to other championships, Prema has consistently been in the running for titles, featuring line-ups of skilled drivers. It’s worth noting that by 2025, both F2 drivers from the 2024 Prema lineup will be stepping up to Formula 1 – Oliver (Ollie) Bearman to Haas and Andrea Kimi Antonelli to Mercedes.
Another championship in which Prema has dominated since his debut was the Formula Regional European. As has happened often in the history of Prema, the team has been able to employ a strong lineup and an excellent team since its first year.
In 2019, Prema Racing, with Frederik Vesti, won both the Drivers’ and Teams’ championships. In the six years since the series began, the team has only lost the drivers’ and teams’ championships once, in 2021.
Moving to Endurance and Indycar
In 2022, Prema Racing decided to expand their focus by entering the endurance racing scene. They participated in both the World Endurance Championship (WEC) and the European Le Mans Series (ELMS).
In the ELMS, Prema Racing excelled. They four out of six races and secured the championship title in the LMP2 category for both the team and the drivers.
For 2023, they chose to concentrate solely on the WEC. They achieved a podium finish at the 1000 Miles of Sebring.
In 2024, they announced that they would not be participating in any endurance championships to focus all their efforts on something else.
In April 2024, they officially announced their entry into the IndyCar Series for the 2025 season. An important step forward for Prema Racing. They accepted the challenge of a championship overseas and one of the most famous in the United States of America.
The announced drivers are not new to the Prema environment but grew up within those walls. They are Callum Ilott and Robert Schwartzman. The former is not new to the American circuits, having already debuted in 2021 in Indycar. Schwartzman has recently dedicated himself to the WEC’s commitments with AF Corse.
As in all the debuts before this, Prema Racing is determined to give everything and not miss the opportunity to collect new results in this adventure.
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The Family Environment
The success of the Prema is due to the excellent combination of drivers and qualified people working for the team. Since the team’s birth, with the creation of the name from Pre-ma (car preparation in Italian), they have achieved success in various championships.
Prema has managed to create a family working environment. All the drivers who have set foot there have always felt that they belong to a big family. This has helped to improve personal relationships with the team and to find the right performance on the track.
When between a team and its driver there is an excellent relationship of exchange of opinions and suggestions, the results are not slow to arrive. Prema have also decided to invest in the interaction with its fans, increasing the social media content to create a more direct relationship.
This only makes the drivers more attractive and closer to their supporters and increases engagement. The Italian team’s large fan base and internal relations are in perfect marriage to establish a good atmosphere within the team and how it is seen outside.
The good results on the track increase the brand’s popularity as much as the work done behind the scenes.
Former drivers described the team as one of the best they raced for and as a good example of what young drivers need to succeed in motorsport. Among the great names of drivers who have raced for Prema Racing is the past Formula 1 driver now a member of AF Corse in WEC, Robert Kubica.
Formula 1 Grands Prix winners Esteban Ocon, Valtteri Bottas, Pierre Gasly and Charles Leclerc are a part of Prema’s history too. Recent champions of Formula 2 such as Oscar Piastri and Mick Schumacher were also Prema drivers.
Every year, more new stars of the future join Prema, taking their first steps in the world of single-seater racing.
The Future of Prema Racing
The team does not have a certain answer on what will happen in the future but one thing is certain. The dream of Formula 1 always remains in the mind of Prema Racing.
Angelo Rosin suggests that the characteristics of the team do not seem too far away. This is despite this project has been in development for a long time.
Should they choose to enter the world of Formula 1, it would be to develop a project that can elevate them to a top team. In each championship, ty have achieved excellent results, even as rookies. However, the work to make it happen even in the big world of Formula 1 is very tough.
Prema Racing has instead decided to focus its efforts on IndyCar for now. It is a very important championship in Motorsport and it represents a significant challenge – one that the team feels prepared to face.
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