Mick Schumacher to sample IndyCar with Rahal Letterman Lanigan at IMS in October
Mick Schumacher is about to scratch that single-seater itch again. The former Haas F1 driver will make his first IndyCar appearance in a test with Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing on October 13, turning laps on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course as he weighs a move stateside.
For Schumacher, 26, it’s a clean look at a series that’s kept its door open to fast refugees from elsewhere. Since losing his F1 seat at the end of 2022 after two seasons with Haas, he’s rebuilt his career around Mercedes simulator duties and a return to race action with Alpine’s Hypercar program in the World Endurance Championship. The itch, though, has always been open-wheel.
“I’m very much looking forward to my first IndyCar test,” Schumacher said. “Big thanks to Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing for the opportunity. And to do it at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway—where my dad has driven before—makes it even more special. I’m curious to understand the car’s characteristics. I’ve heard how physical it is, so I’m excited to see what it’s all about. I’m a big fan of single-seaters after all, and it’ll be great to drive a car where I can see my wheels.”
RLL, co-owned by 1986 Indy 500 winner Bobby Rahal alongside David Letterman and Mike Lanigan, confirmed the test comes “with an eye toward possible participation in the future.” That’s not exactly a subtle hint. IndyCar paddocks run on feel as much as paper, and this is a smart way to gauge fit on both sides.
“I’ve followed Mick’s career, and of course his father’s,” Rahal said. “The thought of seeing him in one of our cars is exciting. He’s got a great deal of talent, and with the solid baseline we’ve developed for the IMS road course, it should give him a good place to start.”
The timing makes sense. Schumacher was linked with Cadillac’s planned F1 entry for 2026, but the American effort opted for Valtteri Bottas and Sergio Perez as its first line-up. That closed one door and nudged open another. IndyCar is a different speed of life—still unforgiving, still elbows-out—but it offers something F1 can’t always guarantee: a fair fight and a clear runway if you’ve got the pace.
The IMS road course is a smart venue to begin. It’s familiar to anyone who’s watched modern F1 and meaningful to anyone with the surname Schumacher. Michael’s Ferrari ran there when Formula 1 visited the infield layout in the 2000s; now Mick gets to write his own chapter, albeit in a very different car and championship.
What does success look like on October 13? It isn’t lap records. It’s feel. It’s how quickly Schumacher builds trust on the brakes, how he adapts to the car’s demands, how he communicates with engineers he’s just met. Those are the boxes teams quietly tick before you ever see a press release about a race seat.
Schumacher himself sounds like a driver who understands the assignment. He singled out the physical challenge, the novelty compared to the closed-cockpit WEC machinery, and the appeal of returning to pure open-wheel combat. There’s a reason many who’ve drifted away from F1 find IndyCar a compelling home: it’s visceral, varied, and it rewards drivers who commit.
Whether this becomes a one-off evaluation, a string of road-course cameos, or the first step toward a full-season tilt is the part nobody’s ready to say out loud. But RLL doesn’t hand out test days on a whim, and Mick doesn’t fly to Indy just to tick a box. There’s intent here.
So pencil it in: Sunday, October 13, Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course. A German name with American history on the pit board. An established team curious to see what’s there. And a driver who’s kept himself sharp and hungry, finally back in the kind of car that first made him famous.
