Brit Callum Ilott will compete for McLaren at this year’s Indy 500 and present his best chance yet for victory at the Brickyard. The driver is already on a roll after taking his first overall victory in the World Endurance Championship at Spa Six Hours last weekend, competing for the British Jota team with the Porsche 963 in the top hypercar category.
The 108th running of the 500 will take place on May 26 and although the 25-year-old has already competed twice, this will be his first with the Arrow McLaren team, who are expected to be strongly in contention for victory after he fought for it last year.
Ilott previously competed in 2022 for Juncos Hollinger Racing, who returned to the race for the first time since 2019 and crashed on his first attempt. The following year, with more experience, he moved up from 27th on the grid to 12th and more is expected on his third attempt.
He has stepped in for McLaren in IndyCar twice this season for the injured David Malukas and McLaren IndyCar team principal Gavin Ward believed he would deliver a strong performance.
“Callum brings experience to this team and to the Indy 500 that we believe will be extremely valuable,” he said. “I am confident that Callum and the No. 6 team will compete at the front of the grid in qualifying and on race day.”
Ilott’s win at Spa, shared with British former F1 driver Will Stevens, was remarkable on several levels. Jota is the first private team to beat the factory outfits in the WEC and the first British team to win a race in the championship’s 12 years of existence. Illot and Stevens are now second in the championship behind the three Porsche factory drivers.