Prema will field its own karting graduate Salim Hanna Hernandez in three Formula 4 championships during his first full season in cars in 2025.
Colombian driver Hanna joined Prema’s karting division during 2023 after it had been launched at the beginning of that year running only junior drivers of Formula 1 teams.
A long-time protege of former Formula 1 and IndyCar star Juan Pablo Montoya, Hanna had previously won the Trofeo della Industrie and WSK Open Cup in the OK Junior class at the end of 2022.
After moving up to the senior OK class with Prema he scored top-six finishes in two WSK events at the end of 2023, then began 2024 by finishing third in the final of the Champions Cup and placing fifth in the standings of the Super Masters Series. He also came 10th in Champions of the Future after a final-round podium, 12th in the CIK-FIA European Championship and 20th in the CIK-FIA World Championship.
Just a week after celebrating his 15th birthday he made his single-seater debut with Prema in the United Arab Emirates-based Formula Trophy. A best finish of fourth from the seven-race series put him seventh in the standings, having been able to rely on guidance not only from Montoya Sr but also son Sebastian, who previously raced in F4 with Prema and joins its Formula 2 line-up this year.
Hanna will next compete in the F4 Middle East championship with the team before taking on the Italian and E4 (formerly Euro 4) championships.
“We really appreciate Salim and we are happy to welcome him to Prema for the full 2025 season,” said team founder Angelo Rosin.
“He’s great to work with and really committed, so we think he has solid margin to learn, improve and achieve good results. We want to see what the future will bring and we are determined to prepare for our first experience together in the best possible way.”
Hanna is the fourth driver to be announced by Prema for F4 this year, together with Williams junior Sasha Bondarev, Alpine-linked Kean Nakamura-Berta and Andretti Global junior Sebastian Wheldon.