Mick Schumacher is adamant that his move to IndyCar does not close the door to returning to F1 in the future, having last raced in the championship in 2022.
The former Haas driver has joined Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing (RLL) for the 2026 IndyCar campaign, having spent the past few years as Mercedes F1 reserve driver and as part of Alpine's endurance programme.
Having unsuccessfully pursued a full-time drive in F1 with both the latter and Audi — whilst also being closely linked to a Cadillac reserve role — in the past season or so, the German has turned his attention to the United States' premier class of single-seater racing.
Upon the announcement of his move to IndyCar, Schumacher was asked if the switch has any impact on how he feels about potentially trying to get back to F1 in the future.
"No, I think that in any case, the world of F1 is a very specific one and a special one, but obviously it's still single-seater," he explained to media, including RacingNew365.
"And I think that there's been plenty of great drivers, and numerous, also sent into affiliation with some other teams in F1 for good reasons, so I don't see why the move to IndyCar would close that door, no."
Viewed by others:
Exploiting the single-seater route
After a successful test with RLL in October, the 26-year-old will partner with Louis Foster and Bobby Rahal in the three-car team.
The son of seven-time F1 drivers' champion Michael Schumacher is also aiming to participate in the full IndyCar schedule, including oval circuits and, by extension, the Indianapolis 500.
Detailing the decision-making process that helped him arrive at the conclusion that IndyCar was the right step for his motorsport career, Schumacher said: "Well, I think that ultimately, for me, it was just interesting to exploit that single-seater route again, and be more settled in it.
"Obviously, I think then IndyCar was the best option. I just had to kind of confirm it to me and to everybody around me that this is something that I can see myself doing for the long term.
"And, therefore, I think the decision-making process was pretty simple. It was just trying to figure out, 'Okay, how committed would I be?'
"And obviously, I wouldn't be here if I weren't 100% committed. So, I'm very excited for it. I think it's a great championship."
Most read
In this article
Join the conversation!