With the addition of the new Prema Racing team as an 11th team, there were 27 full-time entries on the NTT IndyCar Series grid in 2025, which had never previously been said since the Indy Racing League was formed in 1996.
Unfortunately, there are just 10 teams (and 25 entries) set to run the full 18-race 2026 schedule, as Prema Racing will not start the season, and they have not yet confirmed if or when they plan to be back in the paddock.
It means that Robert Shwartzman, who took a shocking pole position for the Indy 500 as a rookie in 2025, and Callum Ilott will not be full-time drivers in 2026.
Four other drivers who ran full-time in 2025 will also not do so in 2026.
We'll start with the driver who willingly, no pun intended, stepped aside, and that is Colton Herta, who is set to be replace by former Team Penske driver Will Power at Andretti Global behind the wheel of the No. 26 Honda.
Herta, who competed in IndyCar full-time for seven years and won nine races, has joined the new Cadillac Formula 1 team as a reserve driver and plans to run the Formula 2 schedule with Hitech Grand Prix so that he can gain enough Super License points to make a long-awaited move to Formula 1.
The other three are Conor Daly, Devlin DeFrancesco, and Jacob Abel.
Daly, who has been the sport's ultimate journeyman for the past decade-plus, was dropped by Juncos Hollinger Racing after just one full season, and he has been replaced by former Dale Coyne Racing driver Rinus VeeKay, whose decision to vacate the No. 18 Honda immediately after the 2025 season ended was seen as a shock. VeeKay is set to pilot the No. 76 Chevrolet.
The other two drivers are the two drivers who finished in the lowest two spots in the 2025 championship standings: Devlin DeFrancesco and Jacob Abel. The writing was on the wall for both of them well before their departures were made official.
DeFrancesco did not finish a single race in the top 10 in his lone season with Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing after failing to do so over two seasons with Andretti Global (formerly Andretti Autosport), and he has been replaced by former Formula 1 driver Mick Schumacher, albeit in the No. 47 Honda rather than the No. 30 Honda.
Abel also did not record a single top 10 finish as a rookie in 2025, and he was the only driver who failed to qualify for the Indy 500.
Dale Coyne Racing's new-look driver lineup is set to consist of reigning Indy NXT champion Dennis Hauger and Romain Grosjean. Grosjean ran part-time for the team in 2021 and then spent three seasons elsewhere before sitting out of the 2025 campaign.
As a rookie, Hauger is set to drive the No. 19 Honda, which the team haven't used since 2019, and Grosjean is set to drive the No. 18 Honda. The No. 51 that Abel used will not be used in 2026, marking the team's first season without it since 2020.
Both DeFrancesco and Abel were considered minimal upside "pay drivers" for the budgets they brought to their respective teams, so decisions by Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing and Dale Coyne Racing to sign more talented candidates for 2026 were largely welcomed by fans.
Tune in to Fox at 12:00 p.m. ET this Sunday, March 1 for the live broadcast of the 2026 NTT IndyCar Series season-opening Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg from the streets of St. Petersburg, Florida. Begin a free trial of FuboTV today and catch all of the action!