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Working to get back to their best: PREMA Racing Season Preview
PREMA Racing are working hard to make sure that they hit the ground running in 2026, and that they can get back to fighting at the front of the field consistently in Formula 2.
The Italian team finished sixth in the Teams’ Standings and scored 163 points last year – both results being their second-worst return in F2 after 2019.
In addition to that, 2025 was the first time that PREMA went an entire season without recording at least one victory, but with Sebastián Montoya returning for another campaign, and Mari Boya joining them, could that be about to change?
TIME TO LEVEL UP
The introduction of this generation of Formula 2 car in 2024 saw a change in the pecking order, as PREMA, who had finished second in the Teams’ Standings in 2023 slipped to fifth.
But there were still plenty of positives, as in such a competitive grid, Andrea Kimi Antonelli and Oliver Bearman shared five wins between each other.
However, they looked to have taken a step forward in 2025, especially early on in the season, with Gabriele Minì qualifying fastest in the season-opener in Melbourne – before a three-place grid penalty for impeding was handed to the Italian.
While both Montoya and Minì would score points regularly, they would have to wait until Monaco to stand on the podium, with the latter finishing second in the Sprint and the former third in the Feature Race.
That was the first of Montoya’s three podiums in four rounds, while Minì added two more in the Spa-Francorchamps Sprint and Yas Marina Feature.
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But neither driver could quite manage to get that win, as PREMA collectively struggled for consistency in results for different reasons.
So for the Italian team, their work at post-season testing and over the winter is to try to find the consistency in performance that their rivals ahead of them have had.
To help with that, they bring back half of their 2025 lineup, with Montoya returning for another season, where he will be joined by Boya, for his rookie campaign.
A LINEUP WITH PLENTY OF POTENTIAL
Montoya showed flashes of huge potential in his rookie year, as shown by his run of podiums in Monte Carlo, Barcelona and Silverstone.
The Colombian’s best weekends came when he qualified well inside the top 10, and in the rounds that he did not, he struggled to score points, like in Sakhir, Jeddah, Spa and Budapest.
Returning for a second campaign, Montoya will no doubt be keen to build on his impressive performances. He will be aiming to qualify inside the top 10 consistently, which will help him score points and podiums regularly.
If the 20-year-old can do that, he will be confident that he has what it takes to fight towards the front of the field, but so will his teammate.
While it will be Boya’s rookie season, he has a lot of experience and comes into 2026 riding a positive wave of momentum. He finished third in the 2025 FIA Formula 3 campaign, signed for the Aston Martin Driver Development Programme, and ended up second at the Macau Grand Prix.
The Spaniard also had a strong post-season test where he improved on each day over one lap and in his long runs.
Boya also ingratiated himself well within the team, joining them at the final two rounds in Lusail and Yas Marina, starting work with those in the PREMA camp early, something he felt was extremely necessary to do ahead of the tests.
Both drivers and PREMA will be hopeful that all that hard work will lead to a competitive season, as they look to climb back up the F2 Standings.