By Natasha Pinto
There’s less than a week till the off-season comes to an end! As the countdown to the 2025 NTT IndyCar season ticks, teams, and drivers are gearing up for a new opportunity to be crowned champion. Can Alex Palou and Chip Ganassi win three in a row or will someone else have their time in the spotlight?
Here’s what you’ve got to know before the green flag flies in St. Petersburg, Florida.
The grid is complete
With driver changes, new additions, and new goals, the IndyCar series has confirmed its list of 27 drivers for the season. The series welcomes a new team, PREMA Racing, with Callum Ilott and Robert Shwartzman listed as the team’s inaugural drivers, and Romain Grosjean as their reserve driver. PREMA—already a part of the racing industry in Formula 2,3, the F1 Academy, and other Formula series— is set to continue to build on its accomplishments in the United States. The season will commence on March 2 in St. Pete and feature 17 races including the 109th running of the Indy 500 and the Ontario Honda Dealers Indy Toronto among many others, before ending in Nashville at the end of August.
Christian Lundgaard, Marcus Armstrong, and Alex Rossi are among drivers determined to take on a new challenge in their championship search after switching teams and colours for the year.
Here are how the 11 teams shape up heading into the season:
TEAM | DRIVERS |
Andretti Global | Colton Herta, Kyle Kirkwood, Marcus Ericsson |
AJ Foyt Racing | David Malukas, Santino Ferruci |
Arrow McLaren | Christian Lundgaard, Pato O’Ward, Nolan Siegel |
Chip Ganassi Racing | Alex Palou, Kyffin Simpson, Scott Dixon |
Dale Coyne Racing | Jacob Abel, Renus Veekay |
Ed Carpenter Racing | Alex Rossi, Christian Rasmussen |
Juncos Hollinger Racing | Conor Daly, String Ray Rob |
Meyer Shank Racing | Felix Rosenqvist, Marcus Armstrong |
Prema Racing | Callum Illot, Robert Shwartzman |
Rahal Letterman Lanigan | Devlin DeFrancesco, Graham Rahal, Louis Foster |
Team Penske | Josef Newgarden, Scott McLaughlin, Will Power |
FOX steps in as 2025 season’s broadcaster
IndyCar waved goodbye to NBC after over a decade this year, handing the broadcast over to FOX for this season onward.
Working towards growing the series and its fanbase, the broadcast booth welcomes F1 TV on-air talent Will Buxton to join IndyCar alumni James Hinchcliffe and Townsend Bell.
FOX started their takeover by curating three fast-paced ads, featuring Josef Newgarden, Alex Palou, and Pato O’Ward respectively. Each with its own style, the ads engaged fans with some of the series' top drivers, building hype and energy for the “fastest racing on Earth.”
Looking for three
Chip Ganassi’s No. 10 DHL Honda driven by Alex Palou is looking to win three championships in five years after writing his name in the books in 2021, 2023, and 2024. Finishing first in three races (including the Thermal Club weekend which focused on strategy and car maintenance with a limited number of pitstops) last season, Palou wrapped up his championship with 544 points, over 30 points ahead of second-place finisher Colton Herta.
With 16 points-awarding race weekends this year, Palou and Ganassi will have 16 opportunities to strategize and build gaps toward their competitors, but it won’t be an easy feat.
2025 Rookies
An influx of new talent this year will showcase the future of the series, with younger generations moving up to take a seat in the series. Three rookies joining the grid are signed to Dale Coyne Racing, Prema Racing, and Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, respectively.
Jacob Abel: After finishing second in the INDYNXT series in 2024, Abel secured a drive with Dale Coyne Racing for the entirety of this season. The American driver showed his race ability, winning three races in 2024 at Barber, IMS road course, and Portland. He is teamed up with another young, but still experienced, driver in Renus Veekay, who previously raced with the Ed Carpenter team.
Louis Foster: The current INDYNXT champion, Foster has joined Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing to drive the No. 45 Mi-Jack Honda. The 21-year-old dominated the championship in 2024, winning eight of the 14 races and showing his prowess on various track types across the country. He will be racing alongside veteran Graham Rahal and Devlin DeFrancesco, who is returning to the series after racing in the IMSA SportsCar Championship last year.
Robert Shwartzman: From a seat in WEC to a seat in IndyCar, Shwartzman has had ample single-seater racing experience, giving him and PREMA a chance to build up the new team. His driver roles with Ferrari and Stake Kick Sauber within the Formula 1 world have laid the groundwork for him to transition over to IndyCar.
Keep an eye on
The Indianapolis 500: Three-time winner incoming? Josef Newgarden and Team Penske have won the race back-to-back, making him only the sixth driver in the long history of the Indy 500 to do so.
First full hybrid season: This will also be the first full season where hybrid cars will run. It will likely be an important storyline to see the changes and improvements made to racing and strategies based on the changing engines.
Better than before?: With many drivers sporting new colours and teams this year, their season will be tested and compared to their previous runs. Will their moves prove more rewarding or more challenging?
The first race of the season, the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Pete kicks off this weekend, March 2, at noon ET.
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