Mick Schumacher has completed his first IndyCar oval test this Wednesday at the Homestead-Miami Speedway. Schumacher will make his debut in IndyCar in 2026. And thus one of the new challenges the German driver will face is racing on ovals.
Plenty of learning to do
The son of seven-time F1 world champion Michael Schumacher tested his Rahal Letterman Lanigan entered Dallara-Honda in preparation of the five oval venues on the 2026 IndyCar schedule. A big change compared to the regular road or street courses he is used to.
“It’s different,” he admitted. “The orientation was a bit of a difficulty at the beginning – like kind of knowing what side of the track I’m on, which corner I was on at the moment. After that, you get the hang of it. It’s very new to me so I’m just getting acquainted with the procedures, getting acquainted with how the car feels on track and I think we got a pretty good hang of it today. It can only go better from here.
“I think one of the weird parts of coming to test on an oval for the first time was going into the corner without braking which was a very new thing. Approaching the corner and still being pretty much flat out going into the corner without braking, and then bleeding off as you go into it is something I had to get used to.”
Conservative approach
Schumacher admitted that his Homestead test was approached conservatively, as IndyCar hasn’t raced at the track since 2010. However, towards the end of the day the former Haas F1 driver felt confident, eventually hitting 194 mph (312 km/h).
“We haven’t been driving on this track in so many years so the approach and set-up especially was very conservative so we weren’t quite in the right window at that point so everything felt a bit weird and awkward. But as we were getting into a better spot with the car, things started to feel a bit more natural and a bit more self-explanatory.”
At the end of the day, Mick Schumacher drove 97 laps around Homestead in a fully black car. He noted his driving improved approaching sun set, despite some gusty winds.
“Towards the end I felt like I was in a very good spot in terms of confidence and how I was approaching the corners. I think it’s a great place to come and do your first (oval) test. The weather is great, and conditions are a bit tricky with the wind blowing and being gusty. It was a good place to start off and have your first experience.”
Return to Phoenix Raceway
Schumacher’s first competitive oval outing in 2026 will be when IndyCar returns to Phoenix for the first time since 2016.
“I was definitely trying out different lines, either going on the high line or the low line, trying to see what the differences are. It was about trying to figure out what I could do before the first real test in Phoenix where everybody will be on track and I will get my first real experience with the other guys.
“I think we are in a very good spot; everything is going really well. I think we’re putting all of the puzzles together. So far already, in the first day, I didn’t think we were going to be that far ahead of what I expected our starting point was going to be but we’re definitely on a good track toward having everything sorted for the first race.”
Steady gains on the path to St. Petersburg
The 2026 IndyCar season opener in St. Petersburg is approaching. This means Mick Schumacher has do a lot more than just an IndyCar oval test at Homestead. However, he does feel that things are starting to fall into place at RLL.
“I’m very curious to see how its going to be with the other cars on track and feel that dirty air and the wash out that we’ll get from that. Lots to learn still. By no means am I at the point where I can say I’m very confident with everything but we’re chipping away at things. We’re making sure that we’re getting ready for St. Pete now and after that, we’ll worry about the rest.
“Overall, I think it was a good day; I think we got everything done that we wanted to. Because the track was so green, we had to be very specific with what we wanted to do in the runs because we only had four sets of tires and ran through them pretty quickly. I’m feeling prepared for what’s to come at Phoenix but have lots to learn still. Great job by everybody on the team. I think we can be really happy and proud of what we did today.”
