That move happened in a flash. Just forty-nine days after turning his first laps in NTT IndyCar Series machinery during an Oct. 13 test on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course, Mick Schumacher is officially locked in for the full 2026 season.
The 26-year-old son of seven-time Formula One World Champion Michael Schumacher will pilot the No. 47 Honda for Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing. RLL Team President Jay Frye noted the speed of the operation, explaining that a four- or five-day process involving the Honda simulator, seat fittings, and the successful test quickly materialized into a full-time seat alongside Graham Rahal and Louis Foster.
For the Swiss-born driver, the choice came down to the energy within the organization. Having made 43 Formula One starts with Haas F1 Team from 2021-22 before racing in Alpine's factory FIA World Endurance Championship program in 2024-25, Schumacher wanted a return to single-seaters and found a welcoming environment. While he currently lacks oval experience and has only laid eyes on the 2.439-mile, 14-turn IMS road course out of all the series' venues, team co-owner Bobby Rahal feels confident they have the strongest three-car lineup in the team's history to help him learn.
This signing underscores a radical shift in fortunes for RLL. Entering 2025, the squad was still climbing out of a brutal slump that featured missing the 2023 Indianapolis 500 with Graham Rahal, placing two cars on the last row that year, and watching Christian Lundgaard depart for Arrow McLaren after 2024 following a season where their three full-time drivers finished 11th, 18th, and 19th in points. The results remained tough in 2025, with Rahal taking 19th, 2024 Indy NXT by Firestone champion Foster earning Rookie of the Year with a 23rd-place finish, and Devlin DeFrancesco placing 26th.
Everything changed behind the scenes when Frye joined as team president on April 1. A massive offseason overhaul followed, with RLL bringing in around 10 new people, including Gavin Ward as special advisor, Brian Barnhart as vice president of operations, and Kyle Sagan as pit stop manager, alongside securing Foster on a multiyear deal.
Bobby Rahal sees that fighting spirit rippling from the top down, backed by the passion of partners Mike Lanigan, Dave Letterman, and Alex Wright. The horizon has finally cleared for an organization ready to put 2025 firmly in the rearview mirror.
