A Schumacher tested at Indy.
What a world.
That was the vibe on Monday (Oct. 13) after Mick Schumacher, the son of seven-time Formula 1 World Champion Michael Schumacher, took to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course in a Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Honda.
The attention around the day was stellar for the NTT IndyCar Series. This is the international version of Dale Earnhardt Jr. hopping over to the American open-wheel series, or more like Kyle Petty, when considering the accomplishments of the son compared to the father.
While Mick has the name recognition, he doesn’t quite have the top-tier results that his father earned in F1, for example. But, make no mistake, this is still big if it were to parlay into something enduring.
A Schumacher at Indianapolis.
Not just the road course, but we’re talking the Indianapolis 500. Feel the ground shake from the Racing Gods across the globe, jumping up and down in joy and excitement at asphalt versions of Mount Olympus at Daytona, LeMans, Monza, and of course, Indianapolis.
Alright, let’s slow this down. This is all hyperbole right now, after all, it’s only a test.
But you know who else did ‘just a test’ at Indy? Fernando Alonso, Kyle Larson, Kurt Busch and Juan Pablo Montoya. OK, that was in a NASCAR with Jeff Gordon, but hey, it convinced him to try out stock cars.
There’s something about driving a different car around the reflective aluminum cityscape at IMS that pulls a racer in, and perhaps Schumacher felt the draw. If the Speedway does ensnare his racing heart — here’s hoping — it wholeheartedly earns him something different from his father: the adulation of a well-informed and excited Indy 500 fanbase. Even with multiple stops at IMS for the short run of the United States Grand Prix, Michael Schumacher never gave in to the purity and mystique at Indianapolis.
In the early 2000s, the elder Schumacher was a dynamo force during the U.S. Grand Prix at IMS, winning five of the eight runnings, and if not for a complementary payback to Rubens Barrichello in 2002, he’d be a six-time champ.
However, there was something about the concrete walls in the oval’s turn 1, or the high speeds heading down into the first road course turn, that pushed him away. In a time when the Indy 500 was run during the Split, when the ongoing Civil War was sinking American open-wheel racing faster than cold Atlantic cocktails chilled with icebergs, Michael was adamant he’d not do it. His words were stark when interviewed by CBS.
“First of all, it’s a step down from Formula 1. And second, it’s too dangerous.”
Ouch.
That type of rhetoric in racing fandom is not perceived well. Why? Because racing is supposed to be dangerous. The draw to it is seeing humans overcome that fearful chasm that only so many can bring themselves to do. In the days of authentic racing sims, there are plenty of armchair throttle heads who claim that they can race (I am definitely not one of them). Few will compare to the real thing, though.
Giants of the American sport like A. J. Foyt, Mario Andretti, Bobby Rahal, Danny Sullivan and Emerson Fittipaldi all savored international racing. Each one (save for Fittipaldi) built their name based on competing at Indianapolis. They accepted the human endeavor to write checks with their guts, conquering speed and calamity in pursuit of glory.
Michael Schumacher is a Formula 1 great, but it’s challenging to hold him in high esteem within that defined American open-wheel perspective that includes the Indianapolis prerequisite, like other drivers such as Alonso, Montoya, Jacques Villeneuve and even Barrichello. Each gave it a shot to tame the Speedway, to truly take on the power of the Lady that lives behind those concrete walls.
Mick, with his much more barren trophy cases, has a shot to put himself above his father if he accepts this challenge. After his morning session, Schumacher seemed pleased with the run, telling Frontstretch’s Christopher DeHarde and others as much.
“First impression was positive, very similar to some of the cars I drove in the past,” Schumacher said. When asked later about trying the Indy 500, he said, “I’d be interested to try,” after testing on ovals. During the short media session, Schumacher didn’t seem hesitant at all when answering questions about doing a full season that included ovals.
“I think [I] might as well, that’s what the championship is about. I think it would be wrong to do one part, if I were to commit, I’d like to commit to the full [season].”
Remember, this is all a test, and there has to be more to occur, sponsors, resources, the right package, and Schumacher’s full willingness to make the jump.
But, if there is one thing that is in IndyCar’s favor, it’s the formula. Single-seaters are what Schumacher prefers.
“I just love it, it’s as simple as that.”
Will he love Indianapolis and IndyCar? If he does, then a Schumacher might run Indy after all.
Tom is an IndyCar writer at Frontstretch, joining in March 2023. Besides writing the IndyCar Previews and frequent editions of Inside IndyCar, he will hop on as a fill-in guest on the Open Wheel podcast The Pit Straight. A native Hoosier, he calls Fort Wayne home. Follow Tom on Twitter @TomBlackburn42.