Callum Ilott Gets Another Chance to Show He Belongs in INDYCAR
Credit: Penske Entertainment, Dana Garrett
Callum Ilott returns to the NTT INDYCAR Series this weekend at the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg. Ilott will be driving the number 6 NTT Data Chevrolet for the McLaren Indycar team, filling in for the injured David Malukas, who recently fractured his wrist in a biking accident.
Ilott also substituted for Malukas at a recent INDYCAR hybrid power unit test, so he at least has some familiarity with the McLaren team.
“Yeah, it was really important to do the test, even though, yeah, I felt like I kind of hit the ground running. There's always stuff that you need to learn and how the environment works together. At the end of the day, it's such a competitive series, so any little edge you can get is good.
“Yeah, it really worked out well in the timing. Of course I would have loved to do Sebring, as well, to get some more info, especially in the non-hybrid car. But yeah, it worked out super well. I'm excited to get going, and obviously they have a great history within INDYCAR, so it can only be easier with that, I would say.”
Ilott is a veteran of 36 INDYCAR races with the relatively newer and smaller Juncos Hollinger Racing team in which he was the senior driver. This weekend, the 25-year-old Ilott will be stepping into a situation where his teammates, Pato O’Ward and Alexander Rossi, are more experienced and accomplished than he is.
“Yeah, I think coming into the environment at Arrow McLaren is going to be interesting for me. It's a lot to learn. It's a bigger environment to what I was used to previously. Also to be next to Alex and to Pato is going to be cool to compare. I have a lot of respect for both of them. They're both very fast.
“It's going to be good. There's going to be lots to learn. Hopefully my progress through the weekend should improve, and hopefully I can join them for a good result and good points.”
Credit: Penske Entertainment, Chris Owens
After a disappointing year in ‘23, Ilott and Juncos Hollinger Racing mutually agreed to part ways after more than two seasons together. While Ilott wasn’t able to secure another seat in the series, he did land a Hypercar ride with Jota Sport in the World Endurance Championship. Last weekend, Ilott stood on the podium with a runner-up finish at the season-opening race in Qatar.
As WEC remains his priority in ’24, Ilott maintains he’s not looking at his opportunity with McLaren this weekend as an audition for other IndyCar part-time roles, should any become available.
“To be honest, I'm not really thinking about it. It kind of came a bit earlier than I expected. I did think about turning up to St. Pete and then the 500 and a couple of other little ones and see what happens. But of course I'm jumping in a car in the first race of the season, and a very competitive car as it is. Yeah, I would say after this, I don't know. I might take a little break as I've got some WEC stuff coming up, and then we gear up for Le Mans. I think I can make the 500, as well.
“We'll have to see. I think in terms of a -- not full-time, but a for-sure ride for the 500, it's going to be tough. I think those filled up quite quickly.
“No, I'm just focusing on WEC, and if I'm available for anything else that seems convenient or I might try some other different cars and range my experience within the world of motorsports.”
Credit: Penske Entertainment, James Black
While Ilott, a former Ferrari reserve driver, feels he has unfinished business in the INDYCAR series, he doesn’t feel like he had to come back.
“No, to put it simply, I felt that maybe it was slightly premature, what happened end of last year. It's life, and you have to find the best situation for yourself and work with that, and to be fair, I'm very fortunate to be in a super competitive seat with Hertz Team Jota and hit the ground running on that, and we're second in the championship, World Endurance Championship, straight away, which is great, and then to get the ball rolling in the first weekend of INDYCAR with Arrow McLaren, I can't complain.
“It's pretty exciting on that side.
“This opportunity just felt right, I think, for me, and for the team, it was very convenient to kind of get it working. I think we're in for a good exciting weekend in St. Pete.
“From my side, yeah, again, maybe it was premature. I obviously did try and stay in the NTT INDYCAR Series for this year, and I was kind of unsuccessful at making that happen. I very quickly found another seat which just felt right in the World Endurance Championship.
“I think in some ways, it's a shame that I didn't quite make a full-time ride work. If things would have happened maybe a bit earlier, I wouldn't have had a problem. But again, I made something work, so I can't complain about it at all, and I'm super happy to do.
“It's a good place, and again, I can't have wished for more at the moment. I'm getting to do some exciting things this year.”
Deep down, Ilott knows he’s better than what his results have shown in INDYCAR, a series that seems to suit his competitive desires.
“I mean, yes, it suits me. If I'm going to summarize it, I think it's been a tough two and a half years to really show what I want to show. I've showed potential in a lot of areas, but it hasn't quite paid off in the way that I wanted it to.
“I think there's something about that that keeps making me want to come in and just go like, this is what I've been talking about, and hopefully that can happen sooner rather than later.
“Yes, of course the championship is super competitive, and there's a lot of variability, and the range of tracks that we go to as a series is tough to stay on top of. But yeah, I think as soon as I move away, I seem to get the ball rolling again and get some results, and I come back here and I want to keep proving what I can show in my history of racing.”
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