Mick Schumacher is facing some of the biggest decisions of his racing life so far in the coming weeks as teams in two very different championships try to tempt him for 2026.
On October 13 he’ll test an IndyCar for the first time with Rahal Letterman Lanigan, at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
But is he just the latest name from Europe to flirt with the idea of IndyCar before ending up out of the picture? Stoffel Vandoorne, Kevin Magnussen, Antonio Felix da Costa, Nyck de Vries - who have all tested IndyCars in recent years then not committed - we’re looking at you!
So how likely is an IndyCar move really, and what are the other options here?
An IndyCar future?
The Race has learned that if Schumacher impresses in his test at Indianapolis, he will very likely be offered a 2026 RLL race seat.
Graham Rahal is expected to stay on, and Louis Foster definitely will, so the answer to the question of whose seat Schumacher would take looks like it will be Devlin DeFrancesco making way.
Not that its IMSA SportsCar Championship programme was necessarily a distraction from IndyCar, but with BMW switching its works IMSA alliance from RLL to WRT next year, RLL has a chance to refocus its resources in IndyCar and make moving back up the grid even more of a priority.
Having Schumacher should help with that - although there’s no guarantee he would come in and blow away his team-mates.
Team boss Bobby Rahal has worked in Formula 1 in his post-racing career, notably with Jaguar, is a long-time friend of Adrian Newey, who engineered him in the 1980s, and has regularly given drivers from a more European background chances in IndyCar.
Juri Vips and Toby Sowery were RLL reserve drivers this year, Brit Foster was signed for 2025 and effectively replaced Christian Lundgaard who Rahal had brought over from Formula 2 in 2022.
It’s clear Rahal is a fan of Schumacher’s, and I’m sure if Mick wants to make the move, Rahal would be one of the better options given the team’s prior knowledge of what European racing converts need.
"I have followed Mick’s career from afar as well as that of his father so the thought of seeing him in one of our racecars is very exciting," said Rahal.
"It’s going to be a great day for RLL and also for Mick, as he gets his first experience in an IndyCar. Obviously, he’s got a great deal of talent and knowing that we’ve had pretty good set-ups for the IMS road course, it should give him a good baseline to start from.”
The same old question
Whether it’s a fear of ovals, a fear of being ‘lost on an island’ in career terms - North America being literally and metaphorically a long way from the racing paddock’s he’s used to, and the more obvious manufacturer seat options of the World Endurance Championship - there are always question marks that seem to stand in the way of drivers moving over to IndyCar.
Is Mick willing to give up a more lucrative deal - at least in the short term - in the WEC to go to IndyCar? Is he willing to put his head back on the chopping block, where as a past F2 champion and ex-F1 racer he would be expected to excel in IndyCar, and that’s before even considering the attention and expectations that his famous family name brings. Is he willing to leave his ego at the door and prepared to learn the ways of a new racing culture and new car? And not have the hiding place of sharing the car with other drivers that endurance racing offers?
It will be Schumacher who has to make that decision.
Though Theo Pourchaire didn’t have the happiest time in IndyCar, the fact he’s committed to the WEC for his immediate future shows it’s not a foregone conclusion that a driver who has either not quite made it to F1 or not been able to stay there will want or be able to build an IndyCar career instead.
As much as the test will prove to RLL if Schumacher deserves the seat, it will show Mick whether he really wants this or not. It can’t be a half-hearted effort with the new tyre and tracks to learn.
He seems positive about the chance to test - although he's hardly going to turn up and disrespect the opportunity, is he!
But it’s been no secret that Schumacher’s wanted a route back into F1. There’s a hint in his comments about the test that if F1’s done for him then IndyCar being another top-level single-seater championship gives it special appeal over sportscars.
"I am very much looking forward to driving my first IndyCar test. A big thank you to the Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing team for giving me this opportunity," said Schumacher.
"The same goes for driving this car at Indianapolis Motor Speedway for the first time, a racetrack with a big history and that my dad has driven on before. I am excited to see which special features it holds.
“I am very curious to understand the special features and characteristics of this racecar, which is different from the cars I am used to driving, yet similar, and I remain very interested in gaining experience in the diverse world of motorsport.
"Great to be able to see what it is all about and how difficult it is, since I hear a lot about how tough it is physically. It is not a secret that I am a big fan of single-seater racing after all, so this first IndyCar test will be an experience to treasure, and I am very much looking forward to driving a car where I can see my wheels.”
The alternatives
Schumacher turned down a reserve role at Cadillac’s F1 team, which makes what looked like a likely Cadillac sportscar drive seem impossible now.
That opened the door to him staying at Alpine, where Schumacher appears to have had certain privileges other WEC teams wouldn’t afford any driver, like that he always takes on qualifying, and gets the lion’s share of fresh rubber in free practice sessions.
Alpine boss Bruno Famin is known to see Schumacher as a vital part of its WEC project and will take the Cadillac rejection as fresh impetus to rally his efforts to keep him.
The other sportscar option is McLaren, which Schumacher has been an F1 reserve for in the past as part of his Mercedes deal.
It is entering the Hypercar realm with a development year in 2026 ahead of a full WEC entry in 2027.
The rest of the IndyCar driver market
The driver market is in full swing after Will Power’s move to Andretti for 2026 triggered a domino effect.
Rinus VeeKay had been the favourite to replace David Malukas - who took Power’s seat at Penske - at the Foyt team, but it looks like ex-Alpine junior Caio Collet will take that seat instead. He’s testing for the team at Mid-Ohio on Wednesday.
Many now expect VeeKay to join Juncos Hollinger alongside Sting Ray Robb.
Indy NXT champion Dennis Hauger has joined Dale Coyne Racing, which has signed a technical alliance with Andretti. Romain Grosjean didn’t leave Andretti on the best terms so it's not clear how this new tie-up impacts his rumoured Coyne return for 2026. Linus Lundqvist is also circling that drive.
Porsche’s IMSA frontrunner Felipe Nasr will test for Penske this week and Enzo Fittipaldi at McLaren later in the month at Sebring, but these teams have full line-ups and are just calling up Nasr and Fittipaldi to progress their testing plans.
Same for Meyer Shank, which is giving its sportscar standout and Super Formula driver Kakunoshin ‘Kaku’ Ohta his first IndyCar test.
