The ex-Formula 1 driver cut his first IndyCar laps at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course on Tuesday with Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing.
Since losing his F1 drive with Haas at the end of 2022, Schumacher has plied his trade in the FIA World Endurance Championship with Alpine.
After two seasons, Schumacher is keen to get back into single-seater racing and re-establish himself as one of the world’s best open-wheel racers.
Asked what Schumacher needs to know before committing his future to IndyCar, he was quick to respond.
“If it’s fun,” he said.
“That’s about it. To me, I want to enjoy what I do, I want to enjoy racing, and to do that I want to find where I feel the most at home.
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“I’m not saying that Europe or WEC or any of those other championships aren’t that, it’s just that I feel like maybe racing single-seaters is always what I wanted to do, therefore, I think IndyCar comes the closest to what I can still race.
“F2, I can’t go back there. I obviously won the championship. IndyCar might be a good option.”
There have been several drivers out of Europe, from F1 and F2, who have a part-time program without the ovals.
Schumacher, however, is keen to go all-in on the adventure and test himself at the circuits that made the series famous.
“Obviously it’s something that is interesting and you go pretty quick compared to most other cars. So yeah, for sure, would be interested to try it and see what it’s all about,” he said.
“Might as well. That’s what the championship is about and I think it would be wrong to just say I’m just going to do one part of it. If I were to commit, I’d like to commit to it fully.”
So, when will Schumacher know if he’ll be an IndyCar driver?
“It’s a decision that lies with both sides. In this moment, it’s mostly on my end because I have to figure out if I want to do this or not,” Schumacher explained.
“Therefore, we’ll have a couple of days and weeks where we’ll think about it and see what opportunities there are for the future.
“So far, so good. I’ve only done four runs but they’ve been very fun.”
The test marked the first time Schumacher has steered an open-wheeler in anger after a TPC test with McLaren a little under six months ago.
Schumacher offered a positive appraisal of IndyCar after his first test. He completed 18 laps at the famous Brickyard.
“First impressions, positive. It’s very similar to some of the cars that I drove in the past,” he said.
“Still, obviously getting used to some of the pit exit maneuvers and stuff that we have to do, but so far, so good.
“Some of them said it’s very heavy, in terms of steering power.
“It’s very similar to what I’m used to from F2 and GP2 that I drove, so it’s not out of the ordinary, but it’s obviously physical, which is what you want.”
Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing’s line-up in 2025 included Graham Rahal, Louis Foster, and Devlin DeFrancesco.
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