Inside the 2026 IndyCar Rookie of the Year battle
- Dan Jones
- 5 minutes ago
- 14 min read
An FIA Formula 2 Champion returning to single-seaters as he races full-time in America for the first-time in his career. The defending Indy NXT and former FIA Formula 3 Champion who is already being looked at for one of the series' leading teams. The Indy NXT vice-champion touted as one of the best young drivers of his generation, and the one with the most Indy-based experience of the three.
It has all the makings of a titanic battle to claim IndyCar's Rookie of the Year. In fact, many are stating that the battle between Mick Schumacher, Dennis Hauger and Caio Collet for IndyCar's Rookie of the Year award is too close to call when factors such as experience, the teams they are racing for, relevant partnerships and US-based racing knowledge are taken into account. It is seen as one of the most hotly contested classes for the award in recent memory.
As part of their first official duties as IndyCar rookies, all three drivers were placed in front of the microphone at IndyCar's annual Content Days as they previewed what 2026 had in-store, as well as their battle for the Rookie of the Year.
How did the IndyCar opportunity come around?
The trio all have a distinctly similar junior career, as they all climbed through the European ladder - at not a too dissimilar point - but have since forged their own paths in the last half-decade, which has now circled back to them all competing to claim the IndyCar Rookie of the Year honours in 2026.
Bearing the surname of his famous father, seven-time Formula One World Champion Michael, there was always an expectation on Schumacher throughout his junior career. After finishing second in the Italian and ADAC Formula 4 championships in 2016, Schumacher continued to climb the European ladder which included championships in the 2018 FIA Formula 3 European Championship and the 2020 F2 Championship. That yielded Schumacher's lifelong dream of an F1 opportunity.
However, after two underwhelming seasons with Haas, Schumacher's full-time F1 career was over. He still stayed in the F1 paddock taking up reserve roles with Mercedes and McLaren before making a switch to the FIA World Endurance Championship in 2023, a simple option from a geographical standpoint: "It seemed like in the years after F1, I wanted to stay in Europe and therefore WEC was a very attractive option - I just thought that I could see a long-term future in that. I didn't after some time and preferred to do something else again."
After a frustrating two seasons with Alpine, Schumacher wanted a change. That's when Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing (RLL) President Jay Frye arranged a test on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course in October for Schumacher. That test kindled the passion inside of Schumacher to return to single seaters.
"F1 wasn't an option, and IndyCar came up, and I think I'm very happy to be here now, having learned more about it and seen more about it. I think there's so many good things out here, and I think so many good things that aren't really being portrayed in Europe."
As for Hauger and Collet, the duo will step up from Indy NXT, after spending 2025 as title rivals, where Hauger got the better of his Brazilian rival by 72 points. The pair have in fact raced each other since 2021, the season where Hauger won the F3 Championship. However, after both drivers failed in their ambitions to climb the European ladder, they set their sights on IndyCar, with Collet first making the move to Indy NXT in 2024 before Hauger followed a year later. Their goals to reach IndyCar whilst learning the American style of racing in Indy NXT proved successful.
"I think my season at Indy NXT went pretty well," said Collet. "Obviously I needed some kind of results to be in IndyCar, and I think we did that. But not only that, we needed someone to open the doors like Larry did, and I think at the end of the season we were starting to search for an opportunity in IndyCar, and we had a couple of options, but I think Foyt was definitely the one that stood out the most."
As for Hauger, he immediately grabbed the attention of IndyCar team owners, as he flew out the blocks in his debut Indy NXT season, winning four of the opening five races as he romped home to a championship. It was a season that had impressed many, so much so that his Indy NXT team, Andretti Global, kept Hauger on their books for 2026 as they formed a technical partnership with Dale Coyne Racing, who Hauger will race for in his rookie season.
How have they adapted to racing in America?
Despite having the highest pedigree, Schumacher will be the only rookie who comes into 2026 with no experience of the IndyCar-style of racing.
That learning phase was a huge part of the consideration made when both Collet and Hauger made their move into Indy NXT, with the duo already having an understanding of the majority of the circuits, the Firestone tyres, racing on ovals and smaller intricacies such as rolling starts and the use of a spotter.
It's crucial knowledge that Hauger goes into 2026 with that he believes will give him a better chance at getting up to speed quickly.
"I'm happy that I got some experience with Indy NXT before going into IndyCar. It makes me more prepared for this year, knowing most of the tracks. I think especially the ovals was a really good thing about last year, which wasn't so easy last year for me. But I think I learned a lot of things that I can bring with me into the future. All in all I'm really happy about last year and the challenges it gave me that I can bring with me into 2026."
That may put Schumacher at an immediate disadvantage, but it is in fact smaller things which the German is having to adapt to early on in his IndyCar career, even to details as minute as the language.
" I think it's mostly vocabulary at the moment, where it's been very different. Metrics have been quite different, as well. Instead of talking about meters we're talking about feet or yards or stuff like that. It's quite tough for me at the moment. We're in a transition where I'm trying to understand everything and putting everything together."
Although both Collet and Hauger may have an understanding of those intricacies, it does by no means mean that they are fully up to speed. Indy NXT weekends are usually shorter than those of IndyCar with the cars also not as physical. The series also does not feature live pit stops, with the IndyCar strategy and weekend cadence still a significant learning point for the pair.
"I think for sure it's a lot more preparation when you come to a race weekend in terms of strategy, in terms of planning the weekend," said Collet. "I think in Indy NXT was very much FP1, FP2 qualifying, race and it's not like you need to do a lot of strategy on that. I think IndyCar is a lot more complex on that side"
What have off-season preparations entailed?
The chequered flag on the 2026 IndyCar season fell in August and with the series not racing until early March, it has given all three rookies ample time to put in additional work prior to the season.
A large part of that has been conducting post-season testing. Both Hauger and Collet have conducted three tests to date, at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course and a Rookie Orientation Programme at Nashville Superspeedway. Schumacher joined the pair at Indianapolis and has since completed an oval test at Homestead-Miami Speedway. All three will be present at this week's test at Sebring International Raceway before the open test at Phoenix Raceway next week.
That only takes up a small portion of the post-season calendar with the majority of work being completed off-track. Hauger spent the winter period in his homeland Norway, spending much-deserved time with his family after his maiden season in the States. That said, the work certainly didn't stop.
"A lot of training, physical training from testing last year," said Hauger when detailing his pre-season preparations. "At the end of the season last year, I could feel that I was in good shape. There were some things I needed to work on. Just been working hard, up to two times a day really, most of the time with training sessions. Just making sure I'm ready for it this year with a bit of a buffer."
The physical element of things is only a picture of the work that the rookies have been doing. Hauger's endless hours in the gym have been accompanied by streams of all 2025 races and learning the smaller details that he'll need to grasp ahold of this season.
"It's just been looking at videos, tons of videos. Lots of hours of that from every weekend from last year and years before, making sure I'm looking at stuff with strategy. Obviously there's a lot of new stuff this year for me. It's just about trying to go through everything and adapt quickly when we get on track."
It has been a very similar focus point for Collet in the off-season: "I'm trying to learn a little bit from the team, watching previous races, what they did right, what they did wrong. when I come to the race weekend, I need to be a bit ready, and decision making will be something that I need to learn quickly, especially on race day with strategy and so on."
How excited are they for the 'Greatest Spectacle in Racing'?
Alongside the honours for the season-long Rookie of the Year, the trio will also be competing to claim the Indianapolis 500 Rookie of the Year as they all participate in the series' marquee event for the first time.
"Yeah, it's a dream coming true," said Collet. "I think I've been watching the race since I started moving forward in single seaters. It feels not real that I will be part of this race in May, but it's just trying to do the process right, just a whole month that prepares the whole race. There's a lot of things I need to do first before joining the grid, but yeah, just really happy to be here."
"Yeah, I mean, I watched it since I was a kid," said Hauger. "Watching it live for the first time last year was insane. The amount of people that is there, the atmosphere, it's something I've never experienced elsewhere on a track, on a racetrack. It was crazy. It gave me a good motivation boost for the rest of the season in 2025. Looking forward to get back to May this year. Hopefully we can have a good qualifying and a good race."
Whilst the Indy 500 is a clear focus for both Hauger and Collet who will look to fulfil their childhood dreams, a very different approach is taken by Schumacher, who has raced in both of the other triple crown races at the 24 Hours of Le Mans and Monaco Grand Prix.
"It's the same excitement as I have for the first race and for all the other races that are to come," said Schumacher. "Everything is very new to me. I would not say the Indy 500 is the one thing that is the main thing on my mind. I think every race in a season is important, so that's the way we approach it, and we take it as another weekend."
Unlike previous seasons, the rookies will head into the Month of May with some oval experience under their belt, unlike the rookie classes of 2024 and 2025. Phoenix will host the second round of the season on March 7th, two-and-a-half months before the biggest day of the IndyCar calendar.
Although Phoenix's characteristics are vastly different to that of Indianapolis, the cadence and rhythm of an oval race may help get the rookies get a bit of a better eye in - which can make all the difference in a race of such fine margins.
What challenges do the rookies expect?
There's a lot of change and learning that all three rookies will encounter throughout the year, but when asked to pinpoint something in particular, there was a particularly common answer.
Oval racing.
It was a point particularly emphasised by Schumacher, who unlike his rookie counterparts, has never competed on an oval race in his career: "The challenges of it being so different and trying to understand what the high lines are, what the low lines are doing, what we can do in terms of aero disruptions from the front or the back. That's all stuff that is very new to me. But I'm very curious and interested in learning about that."
It's something that Schumacher found particularly strange at his recent test at Homestead-Miami.
"Going into a corner without braking is a very new thing. That was one thing I had to get used to, approaching the corner still being pretty much flat out going into the corner and then bleeding (the throttle) off .”
There's been no secret that RLL have not had a competitive oval package in recent seasons, which may make Schumacher's learning experience even more difficult. However, he can lean on veteran teammate Graham Rahal as well as the team's new driver coach in Ryan Briscoe for support in his oval adaptation.
"Yeah, learning with Graham on that and from him will be good, and also having Louis [Foster]'s input on how his first year has been. Obviously he had experience from before in the Indy NXT season, but still, overall, I think we're in a good place also for me to get up to speed quite quickly."
The oval adaptation isn't exclusive to Schumacher though. Hauger raced on four ovals as part of his Indy NXT campaign, where he finished in the top five at all of the events and on the podium on three occasions. However, in an otherwise dominant season, he was winless on that track type.
"For me the main thing is the ovals, just trying to get as much experience as possible on them and learn as much as possible from the team and from everyone around," the Norwegian said.
The ovals were generally tougher for Coyne throughout 2025, although Rinus VeeKay did finish seventh at Gateway in one of his best results of the season. The team do still have Michael Cannon at its' engineering helm though, who is renowned for his incredible ability to set up oval cars, particularly at the Indianapolis 500.
Collet heads into the season with the most oval experience, with a further four races experience to Hauger's. Unsurprisingly, pace on ovals has not come as naturally to Collet as it has on road courses, the Brazilian having just two podiums in his eight races on ovals. That said, he lines up alongside one of the series' best oval drivers in Santino Ferrucci.
"The first test that we did together at Nashville, he [Ferrucci] was there to do some references, and I think on ovals he was one of the best guys on the grid. For me for sure I'm in a really good position that I'm next to him, and I think I can learn a lot from him. Hopefully I can learn as quickly as possible."
How will they utilise their teams and teammates?
The complexions of the already incredibly fascinating Rookie of the Year battle go even further when existing technical alliances are taken into consideration, which adds yet another dynamic to the fight.
Collet's employers in AJ Foyt Racing will continue their technical alliance with Team Penske into 2026, with Foyt having access to data for three further cars, and those of one of the front-running teams throughout the year. The relationship between the teams helped propel Foyt's to their best championship position since the early 2000s, and was a huge factor into Penske's turnaround at the Indianapolis 500.
"It's very important, and something that will be really helpful throughout the whole year," said Collet of the partnership. "I don't have only one car that I can look at, I have another three cars that are very good cars, so hopefully I can use that to my favor, and hopefully with the team we'll have a lot of data and a lot of stuff to look at during the weekends."
That isn't a benefit solely exclusive to Collet though. As part of Hauger's continuation with Andretti following his title-winning Indy NXT campaign, the team formed a technical partnership with Dale Coyne Racing - very similar to that of what Kyle Kirkwood had with Foyt in 2022, with Hauger already being a frontrunner for a future Andretti seat.
Although it is a new partnership, unlike that at Foyt and Penske, it is the additional data and resources that could be oh-so-important for IndyCar's smallest outfit.
"It's a fluid partnership. There's not I would say a full partnership in terms of setup, dampers and stuff. But we're really working together as far as data, working as a team, focusing on the drivers. Then we'll probably have a few tweaks here and there together to make each other stronger on certain stuff, especially on the tracks where maybe one of the teams are weaker and the other one is stronger. I think that's the main thing.
"It will be a work in progress as we get the season going."
Unlike Collet who has leaned to Ferrucci for support, with no teammate currently confirmed alongside Hauger at Coyne, he's had to rely on his Andretti colleagues for support, and in particular, another Indy NXT champion in Kyle Kirkwood. Hauger has said that Kirkwood has already given him guidance on the main differences between the Indy Lights car and the Indy car.
RLL on the other hand have no active alliances, but went through a core re-shuffle of their leadership team in the last 12 months, which has included the appointments of Jay Frye, Brian Barnhart and Gavin Ward, amongst others. Rahal has also driven in the series since 2008 and Foster is the defending Rookie of the Year, which he achieved with the team last season.
And although Schumacher can't get the data from other teams, he has a wealth of experience in RLL that he can lean upon.
"t was great having dinner with Graham and being able to pick his brain a little bit on some of the question marks that I had. But also we spend so much time in meetings with Gavin recently, with Jay, hours of just talking about specifics that were in my mind.
It's good to come into an organisation that knows what direction they want to go into, and I know in what direction I want to go into. I think if we're aligning all these things, we can definitely bring it to a very comfortable place."
How do the three assess the fight?
The previous points will of course be a huge factor into how one of the most hotly-contested Rookie of the Year battles will play out, but what will be the biggest factor into how the competition plays out?
It's a simple answer for Caio Collet.
"Definitely consistency. It's what you need to win any championship or especially the rookie championship. I think the level this year is quite high. Dennis is someone that I've been racing since 2016 in go-karts, so I know him quite well, and obviously last year we had a pretty good battle all season long and have a lot of respect for each other. Mick for sure is a driver that has a lot of experience and is very good and talented, so I think this year will be a nice battle between the three of us. Hopefully we can come out on top."
Rookie of the Year poses a rather different complexion to most other awards given out in motorsport. With only one opportunity to claim it, it's a case of now or never for all three competing for the crown. Even the likes of Álex Palou, Pato O'Ward and Kyle Kirkwood can't claim that award to their name.
It's no surprise then that the award is a key objective for the rookies this season.
"Yeah, definitely a priority together with the team is to be the Rookie of the Year. As I said before," Collet added. "It's really tough, a lot of good competitions and two really good drivers, as well, that will be trying the same thing as me. But I think we have a really good chance to do that and a lot of potential."
It's a battle that Hauger is also relishing, and one he is confident that he can come out on top on.
"I was fighting with Caio in Indy NXT last year. He's a good driver. Also I know I can beat him. Hopefully I'll keep doing that this year. Mick, obviously he's got tons of experience. He knows what he's doing, coming from F1, coming from a hypercar. Yeah, I'm sure he will do a good job. For sure the ovals and stuff will be new for him, as it will for me, but a bit less for me obviously with the Indy NXT season behind me. I think we can all do pretty good stuff. Hopefully I can be on top of the three."
It's a fascinating battle that lies ahead. Three very highly-regarded drivers in three very different teams all with varying levels of experience. There's a lot of differences, which like many other things in IndyCar, means that an accurate prediction is extremely difficult to make. One thing that isn't different is the objective that Schumacher, Collet and Hauger have. That is to be the 2026 IndyCar Rookie of the Year.
