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Multiple elements align for Ilott’s IndyCar opportunity

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emailBy Marshall Pruett | September 1, 2021 3:50 PM ET

As strange as it might sound for a relatively unknown rookie, an entire paddock of support comes with 22-year-old Callum Ilott as he prepares to make his NTT IndyCar Series debut next week with Juncos Hollinger Racing.

The kid from England with a last name that’s guaranteed to befuddle most Americans (it’s pronounced EYE-lot) who’s yet to make his first start in a Formula 1 race, is already regarded as championship-caliber material. Speak with almost anyone from the world of F1, and Ilott’s the one they want to see in action wheeling a competitive car and demonstrating his immense capabilities.

And with his open-wheel career kicked into neutral as the few remaining F1 seats are being filled by familiar names, the Ferrari test driver and Alfa Romeo reserve driver, who also made a practice appearance at the Nurburgring for Ferrari-powered Haas last October (pictured above), decided it was time to do more than test or simulate. With an outreach from Ricardo Juncos and the blessing of the Scuderia, hardcore open-wheel racing will return to the Briton’s life when he climbs into the No. 77 JHR Chevy for IndyCar’s visit to Portland International Raceway.

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The door to F1 certainly isn’t closed for Ilott, but in the meantime, a bit of exploration with JHR in IndyCar just might reveal a new path to consider if all goes well in the Pacific Northwest.

“I had a proper look at IndyCar at the end of last year, but it can be quite difficult as a rookie to get a chance, especially without budget,” Ilott told RACER. “And after completing the Formula 2 season, I put the focus on to the Formula 1 side. But I’ve been watching for a few years, especially when Fernando Alonso first went over to do the Indy 500, and then seeing when Felix Rosenqvist came over here — because I raced with him in Formula 3 — and seeing how well he’s done, it made IndyCar quite attractive.

“Seeing what Marcus Ericsson has done — winning — and how good the change to IndyCar has been for Romain Grosjean. Then obviously the most recent one was Christian Lundgaard coming over, who I raced against last year. That inspired me quite a bit because he was brave enough to give it a go and had a very, very good run. And at that point, I was already talking to Ricardo.”

Count F1 presenter Will Buxton among those who are rooting for Ilott to impress at PIR.

“Callum’s stock has been high in Europe for some time,” he said. “I suppose it was 2017 and his link-up with Prema on European F3 that first brought him onto most radars, well… after Nikita Mazepin had thumped him after an altercation in 2016 I guess, but it was his GP3 campaign and following years in F2 that really caught the imagination.
Ilott (No. 4) came up just short in his battle for the 2020 F2 title with Mick Schumacher (No. 20) but opened a lot of eyes to his potential. Mark Sutton/Motorsport Images

“He came incredibly close to the F2 title last year, in an unfancied team, missing out — and only just — to Mick Schumacher. He’s trusted as test and reserve by not only Alfa Romeo but crucially by Ferrari. He’s just come off the podium at Le Mans, too, so he’s versatile and rapid. With options limiting in F1, Juncos have got their hands on a driver many believe should have been on the F1 grid this year. He’s a proper talent.”

As much as Ilott would like to continue the trend from F2, where he was usually on pole, on the podium, or celebrating a win, he’s fully aware of the difficulties ahead in Portland. JHR is rebooting an IndyCar operation that last ran as a part-time entrant in 2019, it’s never raced at PIR, and it will need to learn about the different chassis setup requirements that come with the 60-pound aeroscreen driver safety device that became mandatory in 2020. Altogether, Juncos, new team co-owner Brad Hollinger, and Ilott would be wise to temper their expectations at the 1.9-mile road course.

“Obviously, I would love to go straight in and win the first race, but you’ve got to be realistic,” Ilott added. “Even coming in with an established team, it would be a very, very difficult and a long shot to feature that way. But the goal with Ricardo is to build this team, work from the start the first proper race to get some momentum, and I think for sure we can put out a good car.

“It’s eliminating issues, mistakes, and building up consistency and a good way of working so that the team can move forward. I’m young, I have ambition, I know how to develop a car; that’s why my two roles in Formula 1 are in in development, but obviously I’m limited on my experience in an IndyCar, for sure. But that doesn’t mean I can’t make a car very fast and drive it quickly.”

Ilott’s signed for one race with JHR, and while there’s no promise of a second, he’s looking at the bigger picture in how he’ll approach the event. If all goes well and permission is granted by Ferrari, look for Juncos to extend another invitation to dance.

“The first thing is getting the car to the finish, getting all the experience as possible, and anything above that is a bonus,” Ilott said. “I’m looking forward to seeing where we’re at and where we can improve. Yeah, it’s a long shot to have amazing results, but I wouldn’t say it’s off the radar. I know that they can do a good job, for sure.”

Callum Ilott, Juncos Hollinger Racing, IndyCar

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Ilott to make IndyCar debut with Juncos Hollinger at Portland

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emailBy Marshall Pruett | September 1, 2021 12:02 PM ET

Juncos Hollinger Racing will make its NTT IndyCar Series debut at the Portland Grand Prix with Callum Ilott, the 2020 Formula 2 championship runner-up, Alfa Romeo Formula 1 reserve driver, and Scuderia Ferrari F1 test driver, in its No. 77 Chevy.

Ilott traveled to JHR’s base on Monday where he was fitted to the car; next on his list was a visit to IndyCar’s medical staff for the necessary checks ahead of his first track test.

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“I am pleased and excited to be announcing I will be racing with Juncos Hollinger Racing at Portland,” said Ilott (pictured at right, above, with Ricardo Juncos). “This will be my first time in the NTT IndyCar Series and running in the United States, which will be a bit of a change from running on the European side.

“I am looking forward to working with the team during this first phase of their development. I would like to thank the Ferrari Driver Academy for allowing me to take this opportunity and for Ricardo Juncos and Brad Hollinger for bringing me on board the team.”

As Juncos Racing, the Indiana-based team founded by Ricardo Juncos made 15 IndyCar starts from 2017-2019 where it made headlines at the Indy 500 after its largely unsponsored team knocked McLaren Racing and Fernando Alonso out of the field of 33. With the recent addition of former Williams F1 stakeholder Brad Hollinger to the program, the outfit has been renamed and relaunched ahead of a three-race campaign to close the season as it prepares to go full-time in 2022.

“We are very excited to welcome Callum Ilott to the Juncos Hollinger Racing family,” Juncos said. “Callum brings a lot of experience and incredible talent to the team. We are confident that he will transition well into the NTT IndyCar Series when we get on track for our final test before making our official debut together at Portland next week.”

The 22-year-old from England has been among the most coveted European open-wheel talents in recent years who, like many of his top junior open-wheel rivals, continues to wait for an F1 race seat to open. In the absence of a grand prix drive, Ferrari has kept Ilott busy with his first foray into sports cars. On his debut in August at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, Ilott landed on the podium with the Iron Lynx team, placing third in a Ferrari 488 GTE Evo.

More importantly, it was Ilott’s run to second in F2 last year with five poles, three victories, and six podiums that caught the attention of the F1 paddock. With Ilott made available for the September 10-12 Portland race, he’ll give JHR its first chance to evaluate talent to hire before the team moves onto the penultimate race at Laguna Seca and the season finale at Long Beach with the No. 77 Chevy.

Callum Ilott, Juncos Hollinger Racing, Portland, Formula 1, IndyCar

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Ilott returning for full IndyCar season with Juncos Hollinger in 2022

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emailBy Marshall Pruett | September 24, 2021 12:00 PM ET

Callum Ilott’s audition for Juncos Hollinger Racing has gone well enough for the 22-year-old Briton to earn the team’s confidence and a contract to remain in the No. 77 Chevy as its full-time driver in 2022.

The Alfa Romeo Formula 1 reserve driver and Ferrari F1 test driver will lead the team owned by Ricardo Juncos and Brad Hollinger, which is actively seeking more high-caliber team members to support Ilott’s rookie campaign in NTT IndyCar Series.

In two races with JHR at Portland and WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, Ilott’s shown considerable promise while learning the car, tracks, and intricacies of American open-wheel racing. He’ll complete the initial three-race stint with JHR this weekend in Long Beach and then move onto preparing for the 17-round IndyCar calendar that starts in February.

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“Coming into the final weekend of our three-race run on the West Coast, it’s great to announce that I will be continuing next year with Juncos Hollinger Racing for the 2022 season,” Ilott said. “Obviously, we have had a steep learning curve here the last few races to try to put everything together. We have had some real positives and know the things we need to work on. Knowing what Ricardo Juncos and Brad Hollinger have in place for next season and especially over the winter of what we can do in testing, I definitely feel we can put ourselves in a great position to start off the 2022 season strong. I look forward to continuing the work that we are doing and heading into the winter to start a new journey over here, and I would like to thank the Ferrari Driver Academy for allowing me to take this opportunity.”

Ilott comes to JHR on the heels of a runner-up performance in the 2020 F2 championship where he took three wins while placing behind Haas F1’s Mick Schumacher and ahead of Alpha Tauri’s Yuki Tsunoda in the standings. Lacking opportunities to race in F1, the door to IndyCar opened for Ilott with an outreach from Juncos in August. The invitation to stay was made after another promising effort on Sunday where Ilott and the No. 77 rose as high as 19th in the 27-car field while the team, which last competed in IndyCar in 2019, works itself up to speed.

“We are very pleased to announce Callum to the team full time,” team owner Ricardo Juncos said. “His maturity, speed on track, and feedback is absolutely amazing for being only 22 years old. We were very impressed with his feedback and the physical condition of Callum after Laguna. After a long, tough race at Laguna, he got out of the car not even showing any signs of fatigue. Considering Laguna was a full green flag race, Callum proved to be in incredible shape.

“We know we are not the fastest car on track and have a lot of development to do, but Callum pushes himself to get everything out of the car and has shown great speed. Over the past few weeks Callum has shown us he is the right driver for our full-time run next year, so we are thrilled to have him join our program full-time. We will be building our program in all areas and will have the time to test to continue our development as a team.

RACER has also learned that if enough sponsorship and the right mechanical and engineering staff can be acquired, JHR is also interested in fielding a second entry next season with a veteran IndyCar driver to guide and mentor Ilott through his introduction to oval racing and the numerous venues he’ll visit for the first time.

Callum Ilott, Juncos Hollinger Racing, IndyCar