Former Formula 1 driver Mick Schumacher took his first test laps in an IndyCar this week. The son of the legendary Michael Schumacher was active for two seasons with Haas between 2021 and 2022, before he was deemed not good enough for the premier class. After a few trial laps with the Rahal Letterman Lanigan team, Schumacher hopes to give his open-wheel racing career a new boost.
“So far, so good,” Mick Schumacher summarized his first test kilometers in the IndyCar. At the invitation of Rahal Letterman Lanigan, the German participated in the post-season tests in Indianapolis. After his brief Formula 1 adventure, Schumacher became a test and reserve driver for Mercedes and then joined the WEC team of Alpine. Despite his success with the French racing team, his focus remains on single-seaters.
“IndyCar is the closest to where I’m allowed to race now,” Schumacher told IndyCar.com during the tests on Monday. “I can’t go back to Formula 2 because I’ve already won a title there. But IndyCar could be a good option. Of course, my goal in recent years was to return to Formula 1, but that never really worked out. So if I want to continue racing in single-seaters, then IndyCar is a good choice.” After his stint with Haas, Schumacher was also linked to the Audi project and the new Cadillac team, but missed out in both cases.
No Concrete Plans Yet
The oval circuits of IndyCar do present a new challenge for Schumacher. “I’m certainly curious and eager to learn what it all entails,” he said about the characteristic ovals. “In addition, IndyCar is a fantastic championship, with as many as seventeen races. I’m still young, so I want to race as much as possible, and I notice that people here really have a passion for motorsport. I also appreciate the role of the driver; here, it’s truly the most important part of the team.”
Schumacher has not yet made any concrete plans for the future. “It’s a decision that both parties need to make,” he said about a possible transfer to IndyCar. “First and foremost, I will have to determine whether I want to do it or not. We all have a few weeks to think about it and explore the possibilities for the future. But so far, it’s going well. I just want to enjoy racing and therefore discover where I feel most at home,” he concluded. “I don’t rule out that it could be in Europe or in the WEC, but single-seaters are of course my preference.”
