Mick Schumacher declared that “it was the best choice we could have made” after completing his first IndyCar test with Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course earlier this week.
The 26-year-old has been trying to find his way back onto the Formula One grid since Haas opted against renewing his contract at the end of the 2022 season, but despite a successful transition to the World Endurance Championship and conversations with multiple teams, Schumacher has been unable to lock down a new seat.
Schumacher has been eyeing a return to single-seater racing, and as part of his preparations, he took part in a test with Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing at the Brickyard on Monday. The Swiss-German racer was joined at the legendary track by a host of other IndyCar hopefuls, including Lochie Hughes, James Roe, and Caio Collet.
“IndyCar comes the closest to what I can still race,” Schumacher told the IndyCar website on Monday. “I can’t go back to [Formula Two] because I won a championship. IndyCar might be a good option.
“Obviously, my target the past couple of years has been to go back to Formula One, but that option hasn’t quite opened up this year or the years previous to that. So at some point I want to race again in single-seaters, and therefore [this] option is a good one.”
What remains to be seen is whether Schumacher will make the transition to the IndyCar grid in 2026. Open seats are currently in high demand, but the squad co-owned by Bobby Rahal may potentially have an opening for the upcoming campaign.
While series veteran Graham Rahal and former Indy NXT champion Louis Foster are secure for 2026, there are question marks over Devlin DeFrancesco’s future after the Canadian racer missed the Leaders Circle – the prize pool for the top 22 cars in the points standings – last season.
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Schumacher’s comments after testing in Indianapolis were promising. “So, I mean, the decision to drive here was on my mind a couple of weeks, months before, just because I was really wanting to understand what it was about,” he said.
“Then the opportunity came up with RLL, and I think it was the best choice we could have made. So, really happy about it and excited to see what today brings and then what the future holds.”
He also added: “Frankly, it’s a great championship [with] 17 races. I’m still young, so I do want to race as much as I can, and I think the people here really live motorsports. I also like the mentality of the driver being the main part of the team and driving the team forward.”