Son of Schumacher secures exploratory INDYCAR test with RLLR
By John Sturbin, Raceday San Antonio
Mick Schumacher will add to his globe-trotting motorsports resume during an INDYCAR test later this month with Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road-Course.
Mick Schumacher will participate in an INDYCAR test with the Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing team on the road course at Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS) on October 13. Courtesy photo
Schumacher, 26, currently competes in the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) for Alpine. The son of seven-time Formula One World Driving Champion Michael Schumacher, Mick has made 44 starts in F1 with a best finish of sixth in addition to four WEC podiums to-date.
Schumacher most recently drove an open-wheel race car as the Mercedes F1 reserve driver while competing in WEC in 2024, and participated in tests at Silverstone in Great Britain, Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya in Spain and Circuit Paul Ricard in France.
The test at IMS on Oct. 13 will enable Schumacher to familiarize himself with the technical specifications of the NTT IndyCar Series, with an eye toward possible future participation.
“I have followed Mick’s career from afar as well as that of his father, so the thought of seeing him in one of our race cars is very exciting,” said Bobby Rahal, co-owner of RLLR and the 1986 Indianapolis 500 champion. “I think it’s going to be a great day for RLL and also for Mick, as he gets his first experience in an Indy-car. Obviously, he’s got a great deal of talent and knowing that we’ve had pretty good setups for the IMS Road-Course, it should give him a good baseline to start from.”
During the 2025 Sonsio Grand Prix on the IMS Road-Course on May 8-9, RLLR drivers Graham Rahal, Louis Foster of Great Britian and Devlin DeFrancesco of Canada qualified second, third and fifth, respectively. Graham Rahal, Bobby’s 36-year-old son, led a race-high 49 of 85 laps around the 2.439-mile/14-turn layout before earning the team’s best finish of sixth.
“I am very much looking forward to driving my first INDYCAR test,” Schumacher said in a team release. “A big thank you to the Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing team for giving me this opportunity. The same goes for driving this car at Indianapolis Motor Speedway for the first time, a racetrack with a big history and that my dad has driven on before. I am excited to see which special features it holds.
“I’m very curious to understand the special features and characteristics of this race car, which is different from the cars I am used to driving, yet similar, and I remain very interested in gaining experience in the diverse world of motorsport. Great to be able to see what it’s all about and how difficult it is, since I hear a lot about how tough it is physically. It’s not a secret that I am big fan of single-seater racing after all, so this first INDYCAR test will be an experience to treasure, and I am very much looking forward to driving a car where I can see my wheels.”
Mick Schumacher was born and raised in Switzerland. Father Michael, a native of Germany, won five consecutive F1 World Championships with Scuderia Ferrari from 2000 to 2004. The elder Schumacher, 56, scored five of his career 91 F1 victories at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, the most of any driver in the United States Grand Prix conducted from 2000 to 2007. “The Great Schumi” posted his IMS victories in 2000, 2003, 2004, 2005 and 2006.
Initially competing under the pseudonyms Mick Betsch and Mick Junior, Schumacher finished as runner-up to Pakistani-British driver Enaam Ahmed at the junior direct-drive Karting World Championship and Karting European Championship in 2014. Graduating to junior formula in 2015, Schumacher finished runner-up in both ADAC F4 and Italian F4 in 2016. After finishing third in the MRF Challenge Championship in 2016-2017, Schumacher moved to FIA European Formula 3, winning the championship with Prema in 2018. Progressing to FIA Formula 2 for 2019, Schumacher won the title in 2020 with Prema.
Mick became a member of the Ferrari Driver Academy in 2019, and went on to participate in rookie testing for Alfa Romeo and Haas F1 in 2020. Schumacher eventually signed with Gene Haas’ American-owned team as a fulltime driver in 2021. Schumacher made his F1 debut at the Bahrain Grand Prix alongside Nikita Mazepin of Russia. Haas F1 failed to score points during the season with the VF-21 car, with Schumacher earning a season-best finish of 12th in Hungary.
In 2022, Schumacher teamed with Kevin Magnussen of Denmark and scored his first points-finish at the British Grand Prix by placing eighth, followed by a career-best sixth at the Austrian Grand Prix. Schumacher also served as official reserve driver for Ferrari in 2022.
In 2023 and 2024, Mick was a reserve driver for Mercedes, serving in the same capacity for McLaren and Williams. In 2024, Schumacher moved to the FIA World Endurance Championship with Alpine and earned his first podium finish at the Six Hours of Fuji.
To-date in 2025, Schumacher has earned podium finishes at the Six Hours of Imola in Italy and Spa-Francorchamps in Belgium, with one round remaining in the season at Bahrain (Nov. 8).
“This is an amazing opportunity for RLL to test an elite talent like Mick and bring two legendary motorsports families together,” said Jay Frye, president of RLLR.
Based in Zionsville, Ind., Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing is co-owned by three-time IndyCar Champion and ‘86 Indy 500 winner Bobby Rahal, former CBS Late Show host David Letterman and Mi-Jack co-owner Mike Lanigan. In 2026, the team will celebrate its 35th year of competition and attempt to add to its 30 INDYCAR wins _ including the 2004 Indy 500 from pole with Buddy Rice and the 2020 Indy 500 with Takuma Sato of Japan _ 38 poles, 112 podiums and 1992 series championship.
The 2026 NTT IndyCar Series season will begin with the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg, Fla., on March 1. The 17-race schedule includes new venues in Arlington, Texas, and Markham, Ontario, Canada. For more information about the series or team, visit www.indycar.com and www.rahal.com.
Japanese driver Kakunoshin Ohta _ one of Acura MSR’s IMSA endurance regulars _ will participate today in an official NTT IndyCar Series test with Meyer Shank Racing at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in Lexington, Ohio.
Meyer Shank Racing (MSR) announced today that Japanese driver Kakunoshin Ohta will take part in an official NTT INDYCAR SERIES test at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course on Wednesday, October 1. Photo courtesy of Meyer Shank Racing
Ohta, 26, is a veteran of Japan’s top open-wheel categories. Ohta currently competes in the Super Formula Championship, where his four podium finishes include three victories.
In addition to his Super Formula duties, Ohta also has run with Acura MSR in the No. 93 Acura ARX-06 in three of five IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship endurance rounds _Daytona International Speedway, Watkins Glen International and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road-Course.
The test at Mid-Ohio will be Ohta’s first INDYCAR outing and highlights MSR’s commitment to providing crossover opportunities between its IMSA and INDYCAR programs.
“We’re excited to give ‘Kaku’ this opportunity,” said Mike Shank, co-owner of Pataskala, Ohio-based Meyer Shank Racing. “We love giving drivers the chance to learn and expand their skill-set, and we’re very fortunate we can do that because we participate in these two high-level racing series.”
In Ohta’s three IMSA outings with Acura MSR, he and his teammates have earned three top-10s, including a fifth-place result at the recent Tirerack.com Battle on the Bricks at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
“I’m so excited to drive an Indy-car and very thankful to Mike for giving me this opportunity,” Ohta said. “Getting to experience different types of Honda and Acura-powered cars is so valuable, and I can’t wait to see how it compares to what I’m driving now.”
2026 NTT INDYCAR SERIES SCHEDULE
Sunday, March 1 _ Streets of St. Petersburg, Fla.
Saturday, March 7 _ Phoenix Raceway, Avondale, Ariz.
Sunday, March 15 _ Streets of Arlington, Texas
Sunday, March 29 _ Barber Motorsports Park, Birmingham, Ala.
Sunday, April 19 _ Streets of Long Beach, Calif.
Saturday, May 9 _ Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road-Course
Sunday, May 24 _ 110th Indianapolis 500, Indianapolis Motor Speedway Oval
Sunday, May 31 _ Streets of Detroit
Sunday, June 7 _ World Wide Technology Raceway, Madison, Ill.
Sunday, June 21 _ Road America, Elkhart Lake, Wis.
Sunday, July 5 _ Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, Lexington, Ohio
Sunday, July 19 _ Nashville Superspeedway, Lebanon, Tenn.
Sunday, Aug. 9 _ Portland (Ore.) International Raceway
Sunday, Aug. 16 _ Streets of Markham, Canada
Saturday, Aug. 29 _ The Milwaukee Mile Race 1, West Allis, Wis.
Sunday, Aug. 30 _ The Milwaukee Mile Race 2, West Allis, Wis.
Sunday, Sept. 6 _ WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, Monterey, Calif.
Note _ All races to be televised by FOX Sports
2026 INDYCAR NXT BY FIRESTONE SCHEDULE
Sunday, March 1 _ Streets of St. Petersburg, Fla.
Sunday, March 15 _ Streets of Arlington, Texas
Saturday, March 28 _ Barber Motorsports Park, Birmingham, Ala., Race 1
Sunday, March 29 _ Barber Motorsports Park, Birmingham, Ala., Race 2
Friday, May 8 _ Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road-Course Race 1
Saturday, May 9 _ Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road-Course Race 2
Sunday, May 31 _ Streets of Detroit
Sunday, June 7 _ World Wide Technology Raceway, Madison, Ill.
Saturday, June 20 _ Road America, Elkhart Lake, Wis., Race 1
Sunday, June 21 _ Road America, Elkhart Lake, Wis., Race 2
Saturday, July 4 _ Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, Lexington, Ohio, Race 1
Sunday, July 5 _ Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, Lexington, Ohio, Race 2
Sunday, July 19 _ Nashville Superspeedway, Lebanon, Tenn.
Sunday, Aug. 9 _ Portland (Ore.) International Raceway
Sunday, Aug. 30 _ The Milwaukee Mile, West Allis, Wis.
Saturday, Sept. 5 _ Weather Tech Raceway Laguna Seca, Monterey, Calif., Race 1
Sunday, Sept. 6 _ Weather Tech Raceway Laguna Seca, Monterey, Calif., Race 2
