Inside Schumacher to IndyCar: Fun factor, oval fearlessness & Cadillac F1 talks
- Archie O’Reilly
- 6 minutes ago
- 13 min read
From the first moments spent with Mick Schumacher in their Zionsville, Indiana workshop on a chilly Friday morning in mid-October, tinges of orange signifying the rising sun as he was greeted upon arrival, they knew it was meant to be.
Across four days spent embedded with the Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing (RLL) team last month, culminating in a maiden IndyCar test on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS) road course, Jay Frye and Bobby Rahal could not have been more enamoured.
“Everybody was just so impressed with Mick,” reflects team co-owner Rahal in a Tuesday media call. “Not just his pace and all that, but his persona, his humility. Just the way he went about his work was really impressive to people within our organisation”
Team president at RLL since April, Frye was integral in facilitating Schumacher’s desire to try out the Indy car. It was an opportunity explored by the German off his own back, with a concrete desire to evaluate IndyCar as an option for his 2026 racing commitments.
Schumacher has most recently spent a two-year stint with an Alpine outfit in its infancy in the World Endurance Championship (WEC). He tasted success with the French team, including multiple podiums, and looked a promising top-class sports car driver.
But as 2020 Formula 2 champion and a 43-time F1 starter with Haas in 2021 and 2022 - and of course son of seven-time Formula One champion Michael Schumacher - he was itching to return to his roots of single-seater competition after three seasons away.
After losing his seat at Haas to countryman Nico Hülkenberg for 2023, Schumacher had signed for Mercedes in a reserve role, where he remained for two seasons before departing ahead of 2025. But initially after that, he was still intent on not letting go of his F1 dream.
Until late in their decision-making process, the 26-year-old was led to believe he was under consideration for one of two seats at new-for-2026 F1 team Cadillac. His camp were in conversation with the American outfit, only for them to unveil the super-veteran pairing of Sergio Pérez and Valtteri Bottas in late August, ending Schumacher’s hopes.
F2-bound IndyCar superstar Colton Herta was later named as Cadillac’s reserve driver, while for Schumacher, there always appeared a keenness to be racing in 2026.
“That the whole situation has been a tough one in some ways,” Schumacher admits. “But also I think understandably they went into a different direction. The information that I had up to pretty much the end, we’d been in contention for that seat and then they went a different direction, which is fair enough.
“It led to me having to understand: ‘What do I want? Do I want to try and keep getting back on to the F1 grid or do I want to do racing that I enjoy?’ That’s obviously single-seaters.”
With the Cadillac option off the table, Schumacher diverted his attention, which was when IndyCar - a championship populated by many of his past peers - jumped to the forefront of his mind. That is what ultimately led to the IMS test on October 14th.
When a deal was struck for the day at IMS, Frye wanted to give Schumacher the full experience, hence the extended weekend spent within the RLL base. This included close-knit work with engineers, support from IndyCar Rookie of the Year Louis Foster and half-a-day spent on the Honda simulator in preparation.
There was a desire to emulate a race week’s preparation to allow Schumacher the best possible means for assessing whether his future was to lie stateside. This commitment, as intended, appeased Schumacher, who embraced and thoroughly enjoyed the experience.
“Obviously I just wanted to see the car, wanted to know how it feels to drive,” Schumacher says. “But ultimately it was also just the passion that people had, to see that and to see how excited they were about racing.
“They showed me this is something I could see myself in and working in as an environment. Definitely as a whole, it has been a very good experience and therefore I just wanted to seal it and make sure that I can get more of that in the next year.”
A two-way excellent first impression was made: Schumacher of the team and the team of Schumacher. And confirmed by him being competitive on-track from the outset, there was immediate work to put a full-time deal together.
Fuelled by Schumacher’s keenness, it was a process orchestrated by Frye alongside driver-turned-advisor Dirk Müller, with whom Schumacher attended this year’s Indianapolis 500 having started work together in May.
“I give tremendous credit to Jay for really making this all happen. It was [down to] his energy,” Rahal describes. “My friend Dirk Müller, who drove for us as part of our BMW team for a number of years, was [also] instrumental in getting us together with Mick.”
Off the back of the test, it was important in Schumacher’s mind that he promptly secured a deal for 2026 to maximise the amount of preparation time. And after those productive four days, with a vacancy having emerged at RLL after a disappointing year for Devlin DeFrancesco, there was scarcely a second thought about a landing spot.
“It didn’t take very long for me to understand what I wanted,” Schumacher explains. “It was important that I knew that this car was fun to be driven around a race track. It sure was. But also the ambitions the team had and the efforts they put in also just for that one day of testing for me were obviously amazing.
“There was a lot of great spots here and there that really combined things and made it sure that I really wanted to do this. So pretty soon after, I was sure that this was a good thing for me so we started working on what a potential future would look like.”
It was eventually announced on Monday that a deal had been agreed for Schumacher to pilot the No.47 Honda - replacing the No.30 in RLL’s three-car lineup. He ran the same number during his two years in F1, combining his favourite No.4 and father’s No.7, with 47 also transpiring to be the family’s birthdays added together.
Once he had confirmation that the Indy car was enjoyable to drive, the choice was relatively straightforward.
“Ultimately, it was just interesting to exploit that single-seater route again and be more settled in it. To me then, IndyCar was the best option,” Schumacher says. “I just had to confirm it to me and to everybody around me that this is something that I could see myself doing for the long-term, therefore the decision-making process was pretty simple.
“It was just trying to figure out: how committed would I be? And obviously I wouldn’t be here if I wouldn’t be 100 percent committed. I’m very excited for it. It’s a great championship.”
Much of any remaining skepticism stemmed from the unfamiliarity of oval racing. A prominent recent example being Romain Grosjean after his move from F1 to IndyCar in 2021, there is precedent for drivers running a non-oval programme as a rookie.
The perception of danger surrounding that particular element of IndyCar has not infrequently disincentivised drivers from the European side from moving across the Atlantic.
“Of course it’s something that I’ve been thinking about,” Schumacher asserts. “But on the other hand, I think motorsports on the whole is dangerous so I don’t really see why particularly that one thing should be more dangerous than anything else.
“Obviously there’s been multiple things - and Jay has been a big part of that - in making oval racing or just racing in IndyCar safer. And therefore we’ve had multiple conversations about that and they’ve all been positive to my ears. So that’s why I ultimately took the decision.
“Of course it’s not to be taken on the easy shoulder - I don’t take it on the easy shoulder. It is crazy speeds. It is super quick. We’re obviously racing hard side-by-side. But I accept the risk for the enjoyment of the racing’s sake.”
Having to make the decision as to whether to seize the opportunity at RLL before having the chance to test on an oval, Schumacher saw it as important to speak to a number of people in his circle about the pros and cons. But in the end, it proved no significant deterrence and he is already gazing ahead to driving on an oval for the first time.
“Obviously looking forward to the oval testing. It’s something that still is on the cards and trying to explore that. But it was important not to do a half thing but actually go in and do it 100 percent - and definitely ovals are a part of that.
“I’ve had good conversations with people around who had good and bad views on it and I just had to make an average out of that and decide it for myself. Definitely a lot to learn still and I’m very excited and eager to learn. I’m sure we’ll be able to do that all together.”
Schumacher has not yet tried out an oval on the Honda simulator but has got an initial feel on his own home simulator. He realises there will have to be some learning in the moment, running as close as ever from car-to-car at speeds he has not yet experienced.
But a thorough testing programme is already in the works, dominated by a desire for him to learn the ropes and become as comfortable as possible on ovals.
“We’ve thought about how to divide it up,” Frye discloses. “It’s probably going to be four oval tests, two road courses and then one street course, which will be Sebring. Three of those have been already scheduled and the other ones we’re working on now to see how it fits throughout the race calendar.”
Away from the ovals, Schumacher was convinced on his own. He has occasionally spoken to former competitors in the endurance scene, namely Callum Ilott during his stint in WEC, and only ever got rave reviews, which were validated by last month’s first foray into IndyCar.
As well as returning to the preferable more individualistic nature of single-seater racing, rather than car-sharing, after getting his own first taste last month, the rawness of IndyCar was an immediate appeal.
“It reminds me a little bit of good old karting days,” he says. “There’s a lot of side-by-side and maybe a little touch here and there. From what I understand, the cars are pretty robust as well. I’ve talked to a couple other drivers and they really enjoy the racing side of things.
“For me, it was really just about getting into my own car and doing and feeling that and being able to take the opportunities that are given to me. Therefore I’m just purely excited for the great racing that there will be and the fun that will bring up and create.”
There will be lots of elements of the driving for Schumacher to get accustomed to as he becomes a rookie again. The aeroscreen, which he believes takes away a little from the feeling of speed compared to F1, and its reduced airflow is one factor, as is the less downforce - more akin to the F2 car albeit, as Schumacher details, with better tyres.
Especially on ovals, there is also an impending education about the different tools at his disposal inside the cockpit of what is a decidedly physical car.
“The car being the way it is with no power steering makes things quite exciting. I’m trying to beef up a little bit and be as strong as I can,” Schumacher details. “It is a car that you have to muscle around the track so you fight it quite a lot. You try and overdrive in some ways to get performance out of it. That is obviously very different to all the cars that I’ve been racing.
“You kind of try and underdrive an F1 car to get the best performance out of it, to try and get the best performance out of the tyre. In WEC, you do have tendencies where you are really driving all-out. But I think IndyCar sets a little bit higher bar when it comes to really pushing hard. I’ve really enjoyed it. The test that I did in Indy has been really fun.
“It’s a different driving style, different car. I can’t say if it’s more or less fun than F1, but it’s obviously racing a car and there’s nothing more fun than racing a car around a race track.”
The main difference to his experiences in F1 and WEC is the fact that IndyCar is a part-spec series, with each driver running the same chassis. The driver can really make the difference - and that meritocracy is something Schumacher values.
“It’s the way it should be,” he insists. “It’s great that you have so many different potential winners. It is down to yourself to really dig deep and try and get everything out of you. I’m very excited for it and there’s lots to look forward to.”
As a part of Schumacher’s unwavering commitment to IndyCar, he is focusing his attention entirely on the one series for 2026. No doubt, his experience in Alpine’s Hypercar could have made him an attractive option for teams in the IMSA SportsCar Championship’s leading GTP class, while RLL are running an all-new McLaren GTD PRO programme.
But for the time being, especially with an intensive preparation regime pending, there is no interest in diverting from IndyCar for any one-off events.
“This year is about being 100 percent focused on what I’m doing,” Schumacher says. “It’s already enough for me to learn all the new things that I have to get after. So the focus really lies on that. So no, the answer is I don’t really see myself doing IMSA on the side.”
Adding to that, while Schumacher has been keen to assert that IndyCar is viewed as a home for the distant future, he is not yet shutting down future thoughts of F1 and does not see a switch to a rival single-seater series as a turn-off for F1 teams.
“Obviously the world of F1 is a very specific one and a special one but obviously it’s still a single seater,” he explains. “I think that there’s been plenty of great drivers - and numerous also settled into affiliation with some other teams in F1 for good reason - so I don’t see why the move to IndyCar would close that door, no.”
Looking ahead to his maiden season in IndyCar, there is plenty of potential inside his RLL team. They have recently brought onboard the vast and esteemed experience of Brian Barnhart and Gavin Ward - both most recently employees at Arrow McLaren - to their growing leadership department under the guise of Frye.
There is not yet confirmation as to who will engineer Schumacher - that is to be expected in the coming weeks - but Frye suggests Ward is likely to be heavily involved in that programme and the decisions made. Whether that is someone from internally or outside the team, it is clear an allure is being reestablished around RLL.
After several seasons of instability, buoyed by high-profile personnel being added to their ranks, the statement signing of Schumacher and Foster being extended on a new multi-year deal, there are encouraging signs that this could signify the end of a spate of false dawns.
“There’s been a transformation of the entire team,” Frye assesses. “We’ve got tremendous commitment from the team owners, from Bobby, Mike [Lanigan, co-owner] and Dave [Letterman, co-owner]. They’ve put a lot into this organisation.
“There’s going to be a lot of things that we’ve not announced yet. Obviously we just did a deal with McLaren on the IMSA side, which is big, this thing with Mick, Louis. We’ve brought in probably 10 new people to the office to this point. We’re excited about 2026. It’s going to look a lot different than it did in 2025 and it looks like we’re in a good spot.”
Rahal himself describes the collection of people leading the team from behind the scenes as a “powerful force” now - and that is before you get to the driver lineup.
“Between Mick, Graham and Louis, we’ve got three strong players - probably the three strongest we’ve ever had as a three-car team at least,” he evaluates. “I feel very good about our future together.
“Last year, we saw great performance gains on a consistent basis in the road course, street courses. We’ve brought people in to not just continue that progress but also to really step up the performance on the ovals. I do think that both Louis and Graham fully understand that working with Mick can only help them too in the long-term.
“I feel very positive about the guys that we have driving these things now. I feel very strongly about our potential. The horizon looks good. The sun has come up on the horizon, and we’re going to have a good year in 2026.”
Rahal has been particularly impressed by Schumacher’s modesty. No matter his resume or background, there has not been an ounce of complacency, which is instilling plenty of confidence in the three-time IndyCar champion’s mind.
“We’ve seen drivers come from Europe and some have been successful over here, some haven’t. And some were very, very good drivers in Europe at the time. He’s approaching it the way it should be, which is he knows it’s going to take hard work.
“He knows he’s going to have to work with his teammates. He knows he’s going to have to be committed to it, which is so critical, which he made clear that this is 100 percent of his effort. That’s so important.”
Schumacher has already spoken a fairly substantial amount with Foster, while the active Rahal, Bobby’s son Graham, has become a father again this off-season so has been a little less present. But Schumacher knows, as a trio, they can be valuable assets to one another as the team looks to kick on.
Coming off his two years in WEC, he has even been handed a fresh perspective on what makes a good teammate.
“I’ve learned this new approach to teammates,” Schumacher explains. “Before that, it’s obviously always trying to beat everybody. And I guess it’s still there, but you also understand that as long as you’re not one, two, three [in priority order], there’s no real reason to fight each other and instead there’s a great incentive to bring the team forward.”
Schumacher is not setting the bar too high for his debut campaign, regardless of any expectation that may come with his past exploits or famed surname. After all, he has thus far only driven on the IMS road course, has never experienced driving on an oval and will not have raced on a single track on the schedule.
While only 2026 was mentioned in the press release announcing Schumacher, his desire to remain in IndyCar for the long-term means laying foundations will be paramount.
“Everything will be pretty much new to me. There’s a lot of things that I still have to understand, to learn,” he realises. “What would be a success? I think honestly, just the feeling that we’ve been able to put everything in place and that we put ourselves as a target.
“What that target exactly will be, that’s something we’ll have to figure out as we go and match our expectations to what we can achieve. But I am very positive. There’s lots of good things out there and lots of good things happening at the moment.”
Where his F1 career fizzled out despite its glimmers of potential, this entirely fresh single-seater start stateside for Schumacher offers the chance for him to turn the page and write a new chapter in his still-young career.
There will always be eyes on him and the weight that comes with that. But as he has had to his entire career, he will embrace that as he looks to write his own story in his new home.
“I’ve always been somebody who has thrived under pressure. I don’t really mind.”
