What next for F1's driver 'hit factory' Prema?

The Prema Racing name might not resonate with those who only have an eye for Formula 1, but this powerhouse of the junior single-seater ladder has steered almost half the current grid to the top level of motor racing, as well as many celebrated names of the past – including a champion in the form of Jacques Villeneuve.

So the news that the founding family has abruptly resigned from the organisation, with no explanation, has resonated around the racing world. Besides Formula 2, FIA F3 and F1 Academy, the series on the F1 support package, Prema operates in various Formula Regional and F4 championships, and joined the IndyCar Series last season.

It used to be a standing joke in Prema’s HQ in Grisignano di Zocco, Italy, that the team had won so many races and championships that it was running out of shelf space to accommodate all the trophies and would soon have to use them to prop doors open. For many years it was purely a family business: Angelo Rosin founded it in 1983, his wife Grazia did the accounts, and ultimately his son Rene took the reins, along with wife Angelina.

That changed quietly, at least in terms of ownership structure, as Lawrence Stroll in effect took control in 2015 through one of his many financial vehicles. During this time Prema guided Stroll’s son Lance from Italian F4 – which he had won with Prema in 2014 – through two seasons in the F3 European Championship, which he won in 2016 before Lance moved to F1 with Williams. Prema continued to operate in other series, and on the current F1 grid can count the likes of Oscar Piastri, Charles Leclerc, Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Esteban Ocon, Pierre Gasly, Oliver Bearman and Arvid Lindblad as alumni alongside Stroll.

In 2021 overall financial control shifted to DC Racing Solutions, co-founded by amateur racers Deborah Mayer and Claudio Schiavoni as an offshoot of their DEMA Investments Management operation, a wealth management enterprise also based in Switzerland. Mayer and Schiavoni had already set up the Iron Lynx team with ex-professional driver Andrea Piccini to race in the World Endurance Championship, along with Mayer’s pet project Iron Dames.

But these projects ran into difficulty when a works relationship with Lamborghini to operate its Hypercar and GT3 programmes went south – to the point where Prema took Lamborghini to court in the USA last year, alleging the manufacturer had illegally copied its steering wheel setup software. Likewise the high-profile, high-budget expansion into IndyCar (to which DC Racing Solutions committed a reported $40million) proved troubled, despite Robert Shwartzman claiming pole position for the Indy 500.

Prema made the move into IndyCar last year, expanding upon its successful junior single-seater history

Photo by: Penske Entertainment

Rumours about the IndyCar team’s ongoing financial viability dogged it all season and reports emerged late last year that it was up for sale, along with its US HQ.

Separately it was reported that valuable road cars from the private collections of Mayer and Schiavoni had been put on the market. Mayer liquidated 42 cars, including a 2024 Ferrari Daytona SP3, via the auction house RM Sotheby’s under the umbrella theme of the ‘Tailored for Speed Collection’. The total value, before fees, was placed at $87.81million.

While the future of the Prema-branded IndyCar effort and the Iron Dames team is unclear, Iron Lynx has announced drivers for its 2026 WEC programme with a Mercedes-AMG LMGT3. It’s understood that Prema’s headline junior single-seater programmes will continue under the superintendence of Guillaume Capietto, who has headed up its GP2/F2 efforts since Prema joined the category in 2016 and won it with Gasly.

Whatever happens next, this is a profound moment in motor racing. We live in a world where brands are bought and sold all the time, but this is a brand based on 43 years of competition at a high level

Sebastien Montoya will continue with Prema in F2, joined by Aston Martin Driver Academy member Mari Boya, who was third in F3 last year. Further down the ladder, though, Freddie Slater, who won Italian F4 and then Formula Regional Europe with Prema as well as contesting the Macau GP with the team, is moving to F3 with Trident. There is also some uncertainty around the future destination of Mercedes protege Doriane Pin, who won F1 Academy with Prema but abruptly quit Formula Regional in the middle of last season.

Whatever happens next, this is a profound moment in motor racing. We live in a world where brands are bought and sold all the time, but this is a brand based on 43 years of competition at a high level, on trust and respect for the leaders concerned.

All the movers and shakers had Rene Rosin on speed dial. Who are they going to call now?

The Rosin family built Prema into a junior racing powerhouse - but the future now remains unclear

Photo by: Prema Powerteam