The 2025 NTT Data IndyCar Series season marks the start of a new era in the sport. A new charter system, the broadcast switch from NBC to FOX, a new play-by-play voice in Will Buxton, and, of course, new drivers up for the challenge. Here’s everything you need to know about the 2025 IndyCar grid before watching the new season.
David Malukas is moving to A.J. Foyt Racing for 2025 in the #4 Chevrolet
Malukas replaces his former Indy NXT Series rival, Sting Ray Robb, in the newly renumbered #4 Chevrolet for the legendary A.J. Foyt Racing team. His teammate will be Connecticut native Santino Ferrucci. Malukas finished 24th in series points the previous season, contesting the final ten rounds with Meyer Shank Racing after the departure of Tom Blomqvist.
Christian Lundgaard joins Arrow McLaren from Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, replacing Alexander Rossi.
Lundgaard finished 11th in the standings the previous season with RLL, capturing one podium at the Indy Grand Prix. Piloting the #7 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet, he replaces former Indianapolis 500 champion Alexander Rossi. The former Formula ⅔ competitor and one-time race winner will partner with veteran Pato O’Ward and the young Nolan Siegel, who joined the team for the latter part of 2024.
Chip Ganassi Racing sacks Linus Lundqvist in favor of Kyffin Simpson following rule changes
Caymanian racer Simpson was the driver of CGR’s #4 Honda in 2024, when he finished 21st in the points with no top ten finishes. He remains with the team for 2025, but will switch over to their #8 entry, which won the Indianapolis 500 with Marcus Ericsson in 2022. Simpson will go from having four teammates to two in 202,5, following the charter system limiting each team to a maximum of three entries, in former series champions Scott Dixon and Alex Palou. Despite scoring a pole award and two podiums en route to 16th in the standings, Lundqvist will be without a ride to begin 2025.
Rinus VeeKay announced as Dale Coyne Racing’s newest driver of the #18 Chevrolet, DCR also adds Indy NXT runner-up Jacob Abel to the lineup
Dale Coyne’s team will go from having two rotational cars to having two full-time drivers. VeeKay finished 13th in the standings for Ed Carpenter Racing the previous season, and has one career win back in 2021. Abel, the new driver of the #51, finished second in the 2024 Indy NXT Series with three wins.
Ed Carpenter Racing promotes former Indy NXT Christian Rasmussen to full-time in the #20 Chevrolet, as well as signing Alexander Rossi to drive the #21
Ramussen, the 2023 Indy NXT champion, ran the road/street races for ECR in 2024, as well as the Indianapolis 500, Milwaukee, and Nashville. This will be his rookie campaign in IndyCar. Rossi, as mentioned previously, will complete the team’s all-new lineup for 2025. In 2024, Rossi finished 10th in points with one podium.
Devlin DeFrancesco returns to IndyCar after a one-year absence with Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, and 2024 Indy NXT champion Louis Foster signs on for a rookie season.
DeFrancesco previously raced for Andretti Autosport from 2022-23, finishing 23rd and 22nd in each of those seasons, respectively. He takes over the seat formerly occupied by Pietro Fittipaldi in the #30 Honda. 2024 Indy NXT champion Louis Foster will compete for Rookie of the Year honors in the #45, previously driven by Lundgaard.
Marcus Armstrong departs Chip Ganassi Racing following the new charter system; joins Meyer Shank Racing in the #66 Honda for 2025
Following the downsizing of CGR due to the new charter system, former Formula 3 runner-up Marcus Armstrong replaces David Malukas at Meyer Shank Racing. Armstrong, the 2023 IndyCar Series Rookie of the Year, finished 14th in the standings last season with a podium finish.
Romain Grosjean, Agustín Canapino out at Juncos Hollinger Racing, Sting Ray Robb and Conor Daly in
Juncos Hollinger Racing is another team with a brand-new lineup. Daly, who ran part-time for the team last season following a late departure from Canapino, will be driving the #76 Chevrolet (Originally announced as the #78, but changed due to sponsorship reasons). Robb, who finished 20th in points the season prior, will replace the trailblazing Romain Grosjean.
New, uncharted team on the block, PREMA Racing of Italy joins the grid, with former Formula 2 rivals Robert Shwartzman and Callum Ilott partaking in their inaugural season.
Last but certainly not least, there’s a new team from Italy on the block: PREMA Racing. The mecha of the Formula 1 feeder series (F2, F3, FRECA, etc.) will debut as an unchartered team with former Ferrari Academy drivers Robert Shwartzman in the #83 Chevrolet and Callum Ilott in the #90, respectively. Shwartzman is the 2019 Formula 3 champion. Ilott previously raced for Juncos Hollinger from 2021-2023, as well as part-time in 2024 for Arrow McLaren.
With that, the 2025 NTT IndyCar Series is all ready to go. Can anyone dethrone Alex Palou from winning a fourth championship? Will Josef Newgarden three-peat in the Indianapolis 500? The season begins in St. Petersburg, Florida, on March 2, and our answers will come in Nashville, Tennessee, on August 31. The 109th Annual Indianapolis 500 will be held on May 25.
