IndyCar Weekly: Schumacher, sportscars and siblings
- Dan Jones
- 18 minutes ago
- 8 min read
You can certainly tell that the season is winding down for the winter in this week's edition of IndyCar Weekly, but this week's IndyCar news included a highly significant confirmation into the driver market and more announcements into what some of the IndyCar field will be doing in their off-season. IndyCar Weekly provides your round-up of the action from the last seven days.
Schumacher confirmed for IndyCar move with RLL
This week saw the confirmation of the biggest seat that was remaining ahead of the 2026 season, with Mick Schumacher being announced to drive the No.47 Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing (RLL) entry.
Schumacher's signing comes off the back of the German completing his maiden IndyCar test with the team on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course in October, as the 26-year-old departs the World Endurance Championship after two years with Alpine.
“I am delighted to confirm today that I will be competing in IndyCar next year with Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, taking part in the full season,” Schumacher said. “Having both an F1 and an endurance background, and having competed in various racing series over the years, I have insights and knowledge that I am sure will contribute to a great partnership. RLL prepared me extremely well during testing already, and I am sure that we can build a lot together.
“I was also immediately excited about the car and the American way of motorsport, which comes across as being more about pure and direct racing, and it is precisely this aspect that I am very much looking forward to. And of course, I am curious about new experiences and always interested in broadening my horizons. For me, a new journey is beginning here, and I am excited for the season to start.”
Son of seven-time Formula One World Champion Michael, Schumacher has two years of F1 experience under his belt in addition to single-seater titles in the FIA Formula 3 European Championship and FIA Formula 2.
Schumacher will replace Devlin DeFrancesco at the team, as the Canadian was dropped from his No.30 entry after an underwhelming return to the series after a year out. It also marks the sixth driver in six years in Schumacher's RLL seat after Pietro Fittipaldi, Jack Harvey, Christian Lundgaard and Takuma Sato.
“I think I speak for everyone at RLL when I say how thrilled we are to welcome Mick to the team and to IndyCar,” RLL co-owner Bobby Rahal said. “His test with us on the IMS road course was exceptional – he impressed every single team member. Everyone walked away from that event determined to do what we could to bring Mick into our program. We’re thrilled he’s chosen to join us, and we can’t wait to get to work.”
It was confirmed that Schumacher will drive in the No.47 entry, the same number he used in F1 with his time at Haas. The number is a significant one for the German, with four being his favourite number and seven representing his fathers' F1 world titles. 47 is also the total of his family's birthdays added together and was also the number he used in his first F1 test in 2018. It also represents for-seven, which means 'For Michael'.
“I'm delighted to welcome Mick Schumacher to the RLL family, a young man who has competed against some of the world greatest racers,” RLL co-owner David Letterman said. “With Graham Rahal, Louis Foster and now Mick, the future for RLL is limitless. I'm very excited for the 2026 season. Still waiting for my seat fitting.”
Schumacher is the third confirmed rookie for the 2026 season and will be battling against Indy NXT graduates Dennis Hauger and Caio Collet for the Rookie of the Year award, as well as the Indianapolis 500 Rookie of the Year. Louis Foster is the current defending ROTY champion, winning the award with RLL in 2025.
“What a great addition to our team!” team co-owner Mike Lanigan said. “Mick has the skills and experience that will help enhance our overall competitiveness in one of the most competitive racing series in the world. Welcome aboard, Mick!”
The team state Schumacher's next steps will be an oval test in preparation for Schumacher racing on ovals for the first time in his career.
The only seats yet to be confirmed are those at Dale Coyne Racing and Juncos Hollinger Racing.
Familiar faces confirmed for sportscar events
As has consistently been the case throughout IndyCar Weekly, this week saw more drivers confirmed for sportscar and endurance races during the off-season, with confirmations in both IMSA and the Asian Le Mans Series (ALMS) this week.
Hinchcliffe confirmed at Pfaff for Daytona
As has been the case for the last two editions of the Daytona 24 Hour, James Hinchcliffe will be present for Pfaff Motorsports in the GTD Pro Class, the team confirmed this week.
2026 will mark a sixth Daytona 24 Hours for the FOX Sports analyst, who is yet to complete all 24 hours at the race. Unlike previous seasons though, Daytona will mark Hinchcliffe's only IMSA race, with the Canadian not taking part in the 12 Hours of Sebring or Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta.
Hinchcliffe will race alongside Mirko Bortolotti, Andrea Caldarelli and Sandy Mitchell in the Lamborghini Huracán GT3, after the outfit paused its GTP efforts at the conclusion of 2025. Ex-IndyCar driver Franck Perera will take Hinchcliffe's space at Sebring and Road Atlanta alongside Caldarelli and Mitchell who will complete the full season.
Siegel to compete in full ALMS schedule with Inter Europol
This week also saw multiple IndyCar-related announcements in the Asian Le Mans Series, one of them being Nolan Siegel's confirmation at Inter Europol Competition for the full season in the No.43 entry in the LMP2 class.
Siegel is no stranger to racing in LMP2s and Inter Europol Competition, having raced for the outfit in the same series in 2023, where they claimed victory in Dubai. Later that year, Siegel won marquee races in the LMP2 class for CrowdStrike Racing by APR at the 6 Hours of the Glen and Petit Le Mans. 2024 saw Siegel race an LMP2 car at Daytona for the first time before winning the 24 Hours of Le Mans in class alongside Bijoy Garg and Oliver Jarvis at United Autosports.
The season will consist of six races, with the opening two races taking place at Sepang on the 13th and 14th December. The series will then head to the United Arab Emirates for a pair of races at Dubai on the 31st January and 1st February next year before the final two races at Abu Dhabi the following week.
Siegel will drive alongside Georgios Kolovos for the full season, with Formula E racer Nick Cassidy joining the pair for the Sepang round. Siegel's Le Mans class-winning teammate in Garg will re-unite with the American for the Dubai and Abu Dhabi races.
“We are delighted to be bringing an LMP2 to the Asian series alongside our LMP3 entry this year, having only competed in LMP3 last season," said Inter Europol Sporting Director Sascha Fassbender. "It’s a pleasure to welcome Georgios to the team; he will be a strong addition as the bronze-rated driver, having impressed us during off-season testing. Adding Nolan and Nick brings two big stars into the lineup, and they will undoubtedly shine."
“I am excited to join Inter Europol again for the Asian Le Mans Series," Siegel added. "The first LMP2 experience of my career was with this team, and we were fighting for the championship then, so I’m looking forward to coming back and finishing the job!”
Abel confirmed for first LMP2 races with Vector
Siegel will face competition from a familiar face as Jacob Abel was also confirmed this week to be competing in the ALMS LMP2 class, the American racing with Vector Sport for his first experience driving prototype cars.
Abel, who's 2026 IndyCar-related plans are yet to be confirmed, has previous sportscar experience, driving in the IMSA GTD Class for Compass Racing in 2021. He will line-up alongside Daniel Schneider and Vladislav Lomko in the No.70 entry in the first season that Vector will compete in ALMS.
“I’m very excited for the challenge,” Abel said. “The team has built a great programme and I am eager to get on track and get started. There will certainly be a learning curve with the new tracks but I am very confident my experience will help me get up to speed quickly and ultimately help the team achieve strong results.”
“The three drivers give a great mix of speed, experience and maturity; they all understand endurance well and know that we have to be in the race when it really matters,” Team Principal Gary Holland commented.
“The championship has an impressive entry list and we know most of the teams from racing them at Le Mans and in ELMS," added Team Principal Gary Holland. "The ACO have done a tremendous job in growing the Asian Le Mans Series and we are grateful to be part of it. We cannot wait to get started in Sepang and carry on with the positive momentum we have as a team from our ELMS campaign.”
#ExIndyCarDriverWatch too (obviously)
It's not quite IndyCar Weekly without #ExIndyCarDriverWatch for sportscar races and don't worry, this week is no different.
Ben Hanley, who has already been a feature of #ExIndyCarDriverWatch on IndyCar Weekly had already been announced for United Autosports in the LMP2 class for the full ALMS calendar. The Mancunian will race alongside Phil Fayer and Paul di Resta in the No.6 entry. Hanley won the series in 2022 with Nielsen Racing alongside Matt Bell and Rodrigo Sales and will aim to replicate that in 2026.
“Really looking forward to getting going in the Asian Le Mans Series," Hanley said. "I raced it a few years ago, but this time there’s the added bonus of going to Sepang, which is one of my favourite tracks. Full focus on reclaiming the championship title.”
Tristan Vautier, a familiar face in sportscar racing, will race the full season for RD Limited alongside Fred Poordad and James Allen. The same line-up finished second in the championship last season, ultimately falling short to the No.25 Algarve Pro Racing line-up.
James Roe will make a return to GT racing with TF Sport in the No.11 Chevrolet Corvette. Roe, who finished 12th in Indy NXT this season and tested an Indy car as recently as October, will race with Blake McDonald and Matt Bell.
“I’m really excited to join TF Sport for this season’s Asian Le Mans Series,” Roe said. “It’s a championship I’ve always followed with interest and I really like how it fits into the racing calendar. I’m ready to get into that Corvette and work with the TF team.”
Ericsson to enter Malaysia 12 Hours with brother
There's even more sportscar interest in the IndyCar post-season, as Marcus Ericsson has been confirmed to race at Leipert Motorsport for the 12 Hours of Malaysia, hosted at the Sepang International Circuit. An all-Swedish lineup will be formed of Ericsson, Thomas Karlsson, Axel Bengtsson and Ericsson's brother, Hampus.
Hampus, who is 13 years Marcus' junior, spent 2025 racing in the Lamborghini Super Trofeo North America, where he won the championship alongside Danny Formal, with the race marking the first time the brothers will race alongside each other. It's the second announcement of that nature so far this off-season, with the Fittipaldi brothers set to share a car in the Daytona 24 Hours in January.
They will drive the No.63 Lamborghini entry, with Marcus returning to the Sepang International Circuit for the first time since his F1 career. It also marks the first time that Marcus will be racing in GT3 cars, but he does have prior experience racing GTP's in IMSA, as well as Porsche Carrera Cup cars in his native country.
The race will take place the week prior to the ALMS race on the 5th and 6th of December.
