"I'm approaching the season knowing what I want": Mick Schumacher is ambitious before his IndyCar debut

Mick Schumacher will take its first steps in IndyCar This season, after participating in a test session at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in October 2025, a track highly symbolic as his father triumphed there five times. The former driver of F1 will drive for Rahal Letterman Lanigan (RLL) alongside Graham Rahal and Louis Foster.

After years in car (F3 in 2017 and 2018, F2 in 2019 and 2020) and a stint at Haas in Formula 1 (2021 and 2022), the son of the seven-time F1 world champion raced in WEC with Alpine (2024 and 2025). Now, the German has crossed the ocean to turn to IndyCar, thus beginning a demanding but positive acclimatization process, he assures.

« It's mainly a question of vocabulary, which is very different. The units of measurement are also very different. Instead of talking in meters, we talk in feet or yards, that sort of thing. It's quite difficult for me at the moment., he admits. The team was great in helping me through this process, and also in supporting me, particularly by training the team with the engineering group, which is excellent. The mechanics are incredible, so we're all in a really good position to start the season off on the right foot.. »

Schumacher will also be driving the Dallara-Honda No. 47, a number he already wore in F1. It combines his favorite number, No. 4, and that of his father Michael Schumacher, number 7. When you find a number that suits you, it's quite natural to keep it. I had number 4 when I won the F3 championship, then number 7, which is very special to me because it's my father's number. he says. I will wear it with pride. »

Having matured, Mick Schumacher approaches the 2026 IndyCar season with confidence. I've grown older since [my F1 debut]. I feel much more mature in some ways. The excitement is still there, but in a different way. he assuresI have a more structured approach. I'm very keen to get started, but also to build a team around me and gain experience. I'm going into the season knowing much better what I want and how I want things to go. I'm much more direct about it. It's very different from my first year in F1. »

Learning IndyCar

One of the main differences between Formula 1 and IndyCar lies in the oval tracks, on which several rounds of the American series are held. A considerable challenge for the former Haas driver. It's very different. You have to understand high trajectories, low trajectories, what you can do in terms of aerodynamic disturbances at the front or rear, explains the new RLL recruit. This is all very new to me. But I'm very curious and interested in learning. The good thing is that we have Graham [Rahal] on the team, who has competed in quite a few of these races in his career. So I can learn a lot from him. »

He will also have to adapt to the spotters, whose job it is to warn the driver of the presence of other cars on the track. I've always been a driver who liked having a lot of information, so I often pushed my engineers to talk to me as much as possible. In that respect, it will be quite similar."Before starting the 2026 season, Schumacher prepared on the simulator." I had a good session on the simulator in St. Pete, which was quite fun, very bumpy, which is new to me. "The tests scheduled for Phoenix on February 17th and 18th will nevertheless constitute the real test." There are limitations to the simulator. It always turns left, and you can't really learn the bumps or the exact behavior of the car. It's difficult to replicate. But I'll have time to get used to it and understand what it's like to drive on an oval. »

Despite the magnitude of the challenge, Mick Schumacher seems ready to take it on. Across the Atlantic, he could finally break free from his father's shadow and forge his own path in IndyCar.

ALSO READ > IndyCar in Washington DC? Graham Rahal is in favor.