Now, this is a massive shift. Formula One and World Endurance Championship veteran Mick Schumacher is heading across the Atlantic to contest the entire 2026 NTT IndyCar Series season with Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing (RLL).
The Swiss-born Schumacher, 26, will pilot the No. 47 Honda—a neat nod with significant symbolic meaning for his family and his father, seven-time Formula One World Champion Michael Schumacher. He slots into a driver lineup alongside Graham Rahal and 2025 series Rookie of the Year Louis Foster, with sponsorship details still waiting in the wings.
Fans got a hint of this back on Oct. 13 when Schumacher first sampled an IndyCar machine during a test with RLL on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course. That run clearly left an impression. “RLL prepared me extremely well during testing already, and I am sure that we can build a lot together,” Schumacher said, noting that he was immediately drawn to the pure and direct nature of American motorsport.
While road and street circuits are familiar territory, ovals are about to enter the chat. Six of the 17 races on the 2026 calendar will happen on circle tracks, including the 110th Running of the Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge on May 24. RLL has an oval test lined up for him in the near future to get him up to speed.
His resume is nothing to sneeze at. Schumacher made 43 F1 starts for Haas F1 Team between 2021 and 2022, securing a career-best finish of sixth. From there, he jumped to Alpine for 2024 and 2025 to wheel their factory WEC program, which yielded three podium finishes. Further back, his junior career featured runner-up finishes in the Karting World and European championships in 2014, dual 2016 runner-up spots in ADAC F4 and Italian F4, an FIA European Formula 3 title with Prema in 2018, and the FIA Formula 2 crown with Prema in 2020 after joining the Ferrari Driver Academy in 2019.
Bobby Rahal made it clear how the team felt after that initial IMS test, noting that every single member of the squad was determined to bring him into the program. David Letterman chimed in on the lineup's potential, adding with typical humor that he is still waiting for his seat fitting, while Mike Lanigan praised the incoming driver's skills and experience.
The 2026 NTT IndyCar Series campaign kicks off on Sunday, March 1 with the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg, with all 17 races slated for live television broadcast in the United States on FOX.
