Former Formula 1 driver Mick Schumacher will race in the 2026 IndyCar Series with the Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing (RLL) team.
The 26-year-old, son of seven-time F1 champion Michael Schumacher, left his role as Mercedes reserve driver at the end of the 2024 season.
The German joined Mercedes after being dropped by Haas in 2022, having made 43 F1 starts, and had hoped for a return to the grid next season, but was rejected by the Sauber/Audi and Alpine teams.
In 2024 and 2025 he raced for Alpine in the World Endurance Championship, achieving three podium finishes in 16 starts.
Schumacher will drive the number 47 Honda alongside RLL team-mates Graham Rahal and 2025 Rookie of the Year Louis Foster.
Mick Schumacher participated in a special virtual media day set by IndyCar and spoke with members of the media that included IndyCar Reports.
Discussing his number 47 Mick stated:
“I mean, to me, the No. 47 was obviously a choice at the time to go in Formula 1. Mainly I wanted No. 4, that wasn’t available; I wanted No.7, that wasn’t available, either. So I kind of combined the two, and then there were so many little funny twists withthat number. As I saw that it was basically available in INDYCAR, I was like, okay, I would love to, if possible, get it for the car as well, and it did, so it worked out, and I’m super happy to have it back on the car. It just makes things very simple and nice for me to see.”
Schumacher would go on to reveal the reason for him choosing IndyCar:
“Well, I think that ultimately for me, it was just interesting to exploit that single-seater route again and kind of be more settled in it. Obviously I think to me then INDYCAR was the best option. I just had to kind of confirm it to me and to everybody around me that this is something that I could see myself doing for the long-term, and therefore, yeah, I think that the decision-making process was pretty simple. It was just trying to figure out, okay, how committed would I be, and obviously I wouldn’t be here if I wouldn’t be 100 percent committed.
Yeah, I’m very excited for it. I think it’s a great championship. Obviously looking forward to the oval testing. It’s something that still is on the cards, and trying to explore that.
But to me it was important not to do like 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.”
The 17-race 2026 season begins with the Firestone Grand Prix in St. Petersburg, Florida, on 1 March.
