The 25-year-old Briton has been called in to drive Arrow McLaren’s #6 Chevrolet for the IndyCar opener, while Malukas continues to recover from an injured left wrist that required surgery.
The journey to this point has been an interesting one for Ilott. He made 36 IndyCar starts with Juncos Hollinger Racing over the last three seasons, including five top-10 finishes that was highlighted with a best of fifth on two occasions, St. Petersburg and Laguna Seca, in 2023.
That venture came after a brief spell with Formula 1 programmes as a test driver for Ferrari and a reserve driver for Alfa Romeo in 2021.
Despite the promise shown on track over the past few years, Ilott was left without a full-time ride in IndyCar for 2024 and forced to seek other opportunities.
Ultimately, he ended up in the World Endurance Championship driving for Jota Porsche in the Hypercar category, and finished second in the Qatar season-opener last Saturday.
“I felt that maybe it was slightly premature, what happened end of last year,” Ilott said, regarding his time with Juncos.
“It's life, and you have to find the best situation for yourself and work with that.
“And to be fair, I'm very fortunate to be in a super competitive seat with Hertz Team Jota and hit the ground running on that, and we're second in the championship, World Endurance Championship, straight away, which is great.
“And then to get the ball rolling in the first weekend of IndyCar with Arrow McLaren, I can't complain.”
Source: Autosport