Callum Ilott facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Callum Ilott |
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Ilott at the 2024 6 Hours of Fuji
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| Nationality |  British |
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| Born | 11 November 1998 Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, England |
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| FIA World Endurance Championship career | |||||||
| Debut season | 2024 | ||||||
| Current team | Jota Sport | ||||||
| Starts | 8 | ||||||
| Wins | 1 | ||||||
| Podiums | 2 | ||||||
| Poles | 0 | ||||||
| Fastest laps | 0 | ||||||
| IndyCar Series career | |||||||
| 38 races run over 4 years | |||||||
| Team(s) | No. 90 (Prema Racing) | ||||||
| Best finish | 16th (2023) | ||||||
| First race | 2021 Grand Prix of Portland (Portland) | ||||||
| Last race | 2024 Indianapolis 500 (Indianapolis) | ||||||
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| Previous series | |||||||
| 2019–20 2018 2015–17 2015 |
FIA Formula 2 Championship GP3 Series FIA Formula 3 European Championship Toyota Racing Series |
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| 24 Hours of Le Mans career | |||||||
| Years | 2021, 2024 | ||||||
| Teams | Iron Lynx, Jota Sport | ||||||
| Best finish | 8th (2024) | ||||||
| Class wins | 0 | ||||||
Callum Benjamin Ilott (born 11 November 1998) is a British racing driver. He currently races in the FIA World Endurance Championship for Jota Sport in the fast Hypercar class.
Callum also competes in the NTT IndyCar Series. He will drive for the new Prema Racing Team in 2025. In 2020 Formula 2 Championship, he finished second, right behind Mick Schumacher. Callum was also part of the Ferrari Driver Academy, a program that helps young drivers become future Formula One stars.
Contents
Callum's Racing Journey
Karting: Where it All Began
Callum started racing go-karts in 2008. He quickly became very good! In 2011, he won the Formula Kart Stars championship. He also finished third in the German Junior Karting Championship.
The next year, 2012, was amazing for Callum. At just 13 years old, he won the WSK Masters Series and the WSK Final Cup. He also finished second in two other big races: the WSK Euro Series and the CIK-FIA World Cup. Because of his success, he was named the youngest ever WSK Driver of the Year.
In 2014, Callum continued to win. He took home the CIK-FIA European Championship and the WSK Super Masters Series. He also finished third in the WSK Champions Cup.
Moving to Single-Seater Cars
After karting, Callum moved to racing single-seater cars. These are open-wheel cars, meaning the wheels are outside the car's body.
Toyota Racing Series
Callum started his single-seater career in the Toyota Racing Series in 2015. He showed good speed in practice sessions. He finished 16th in the championship.
FIA Formula 3 European Championship
In 2015, Callum moved up to Formula Three with the Carlin team. Even though he was only 16, people thought he could be a championship contender. He earned one podium finish at the Nürburgring and finished 12th overall.
For the 2016 season, Callum joined Van Amersfoort Racing. He won his first race in the series at Circuit Paul Ricard. He also won another race at the Red Bull Ring, finishing sixth overall that year.
In 2017, Callum raced with Prema Powerteam. He had a fantastic season, winning six races and getting on the podium 11 times! He finished fourth in the championship, helping his team win the championship title.
GP3 Series
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In 2018, Callum joined ART Grand Prix for the 2018 GP3 Series. He finished third in the championship, behind his teammates. He earned seven podiums, including two victories.
FIA Formula 2 Championship
Callum made his debut in the FIA Formula 2 Championship in 2017 for two races.
In 2019, he raced a full season in F2. He finished 11th overall, getting two podiums and his first pole position in Monza.
For the 2020 season, Callum joined UNI-Virtuosi Racing. He was still part of the Ferrari Driver Academy. He won his first F2 race at the Red Bull Ring. Callum had a great season, winning three races, getting five pole positions, and six podiums. He finished second in the championship, just behind Mick Schumacher.
Formula One: The Dream Series
Formula One is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars.
Callum was part of the Red Bull Junior Team in 2015, but he left the program at the end of the year. In 2017, he joined the Ferrari Driver Academy.
He got his first chance to drive a Formula One car in 2019 during a test session with Alfa Romeo Racing. He was supposed to drive for the Haas F1 Team in a practice session at the 2020 Eifel Grand Prix, but it was canceled due to bad weather.
In 2021, Callum became a test driver for Scuderia Ferrari. He also became a reserve driver for Alfa Romeo, meaning he was ready to step in if a main driver couldn't race. He drove in practice sessions at the 2021 Portuguese Grand Prix and the 2021 Austrian Grand Prix.
IndyCar Series: Racing in America
The IndyCar Series is a top-level open-wheel racing series in North America.
Juncos Hollinger Racing (2021–2023)
In 2021, Callum joined Juncos Hollinger Racing for the last three races of the season. He faced some challenges, including mechanical problems and a crash.
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He continued with the team full-time in 2022. After a crash at the 2022 Indianapolis 500, he broke his right hand and missed a race. He returned later and finished 11th at Road America. He signed a new contract to stay with the team until 2024.
In 2023, Callum started the season strong with his best finish in the series, fifth place, at the Grand Prix of St. Petersburg. The 2023 Indianapolis 500 was tough, but he managed to finish 12th. He ended the season with another fifth-place finish at Laguna Seca. In October 2023, Callum and Juncos Hollinger Racing decided to go their separate ways.
Arrow McLaren (2024)
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In 2024, Callum raced for Arrow McLaren in two races. He filled in for another driver at the opening race in St. Petersburg and also raced in the 2024 Indianapolis 500, finishing 11th.
Prema (2025)
Callum is set to join Prema's new IndyCar team for the 2025 season.
Sports Car Racing
Sports car racing involves cars that look more like regular cars but are built for racing.
2021
GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup
In 2021, Callum raced for Iron Lynx in the 2021 GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup. He drove a Ferrari 488 GT3 car.
24 Hours of Le Mans
Callum made his debut at the famous 24 Hours of Le Mans race in 2021. This is a very long endurance race where teams race for 24 hours straight! He finished third in his class (GTE Am), which was a great achievement for his first time.
2024
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In 2024, Callum moved to the FIA World Endurance Championship with Hertz Team Jota. He drives a fast Hypercar, which is the top class in this series.
His team started the season well, finishing second in the first race in Qatar. Two races later, Callum and his teammate Will Stevens won their first race at Spa-Francorchamps! This was also the first Hypercar win for the Jota team.
After this win, Callum had some bad luck. He crashed during practice at Le Mans, which meant his team had to change their car's chassis. Despite this, they finished eighth in the race. He also crashed out of a race in Brazil and had electrical issues in another race in the USA.
However, the Jota team won the FIA World Cup title after finishing fifth at the 6 Hours of Fuji. Callum will be leaving the team at the end of the season.
Images for kids
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Ilott at the 2024 6 Hours of Fuji
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Ilott at Spa-Francorchamps during the 2015 FIA Formula 3 European Championship.
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Ilott took pole position and won the feature race at the Red Bull Ring in the 2018 GP3 Series season.
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Ilott at the 2019 Spielberg Formula 2 round with Charouz
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Ilott at the 2022 XPEL 375
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Ilott at the 2024 Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg
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Ilott competing for Hertz Team Jota at the 2024 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps.
See also
In Spanish: Callum Ilott para niños
