As Motorsport.com Deutschland reports, Mick Schumacher has set his sights on bringing the IndyCar series to Germany following its upcoming debut in Barcelona. With the US championship returning to Europe for the first time since the final ChampCar season in 2007, the German driver is hoping for a home race and has already singled out two possible tracks.
"Mir wäre der Nürburgring am liebsten," Schumacher explains, though he quickly admits that Hockenheim likely holds the most potential for the series overall. The Baden-Württemberg circuit also holds personal significance, as he secured the European Formula 3 Championship title there in 2018 alongside victories in both races at the Nürburgring that same year. Meanwhile, a return to the Lausitzring tri-oval is deemed unlikely because parts of the layout are no longer suitable for racing. The CART series previously competed there twice, most notably in 2001 when Alex Zanardi suffered a severe accident, followed by a 'German 500' in 2003.
Wie es mit den Resultaten aussieht, werden wir nächstes Jahr sehen,
Of course, hosting an overseas IndyCar round comes with massive financial hurdles. The Barcelona trip is backed by BOLD Technology, the series' new battery supplier, and capitalizes on Spain being the home of series superstar Alex Palou. For Schumacher, reaching that level of stardom is still a work in progress, but he is taking a crucial step in 2027 by switching from Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing to Meyer Shank Racing. MSR sits firmly in the established upper midfield and fields the reigning Indy 500 winner.
Setting his sights high for his second year, Schumacher notes that the goal is to keep improving and fight right at the front. At MSR, he steps into the seat vacated by Felix Rosenqvist, who moved to Arrow McLaren. The team's competitive standing is further bolstered by a tight technical partnership with Chip Ganassi Racing, the outfit run by multi-time champion Alex Palou, making the switch a clear upward move in the championship hierarchy.
Inside the garage, Schumacher will reunite with a familiar face: Marcus Armstrong. The twenty-six-year-old New Zealander was a karting teammate and raced alongside Schumacher at Prema in European Formula 3 back in 2018. While the 'Kiwi' enters his fifth IndyCar campaign with two years of MSR experience under his belt, Schumacher is eager to lean on that institutional knowledge while keeping his competitive edge sharp. "Wie es mit den Resultaten aussieht, werden wir nächstes Jahr sehen," Schumacher says, "Aber natürlich ist das Ziel, vor ihm ins Ziel zu kommen."
