IndyCar rookie Dennis Hauger navigates Turn 12 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course during IndyCar testing on October 13th, 2025. (Photo: Anthony Sylvia | The Podium Finish)
SPEEDWAY, Ind. – Fall was in the air on Monday at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. What started out as a brisk 59-degree morning for the 9 a.m. ET start of off-season testing, things quickly heated up on-track as rookie and development test drivers shook down cars on the 2.439-mile road course, preparing for a day of driver evaluation testing for many of the participants.
After dominating the 2025 Firestone INDY NXT season with six victories, seven pole-positions and winning the series championship with Andretti Global, Dennis Hauger has set his sights on acclimating himself with his new team at Dale Coyne Racing for the 2026 NTT INDY CAR Series.
The 22-year-old Norwegian phenom unofficially set the fastest lap of the day at 1:10.768 in the No. 18 Ault Blockchain/askROI Honda, marginally edging out Alexander Rossi with his quick lap of 1:10.858 in the No. 20 Java House ECR Chevrolet. Since this was a development session, lap times were not officially recorded by timing and scoring.
Hauger’s fast pace was largely overshadowed by the much-anticipated debut of former Formula 1 driver, Mick Schumacher. While still solidifying his plans for 2026, Schumacher jumped at the opportunity to try out American open-wheel racing when the opportunity presented itself with Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing.
“I think in terms of what I’m doing in ’26, it’s very open,” Schumacher said. “Obviously, the options are all there. I think INDYCAR is one of them, so I really just wanted to know what it was so that I can make my mind up. I have different options, and this being one of them, so I think, yeah, there is good potential. It’s about me now trying to figure out what I want to do and if this is one thing that I would consider for long-term.”
Former Formula 1 driver Mick Schumacher navigates the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course during the October driver development testing. (Photo: Anthony Sylvia | The Podium Finish)
The son of seven-time Formula 1 world champion Michael Schumacher, Mick relishes the opportunity to drive at the Racing Capital of the World where his father dominated in the early 2000’s by winning five U.S. Grand Prix Formula 1 events over a span of six years.
“It was great,” said Schumacher. “I was here earlier this year in May, I believe it was, just before the Indy 500, and the place was quite crowded compared to now. But it’s still nice to be here, to get to know the racetrack. It’s obviously one of those racetracks which they race on, so we had good data to compare and analyze what I was doing and to see how it compares to the full-time drivers.”
Schumacher’s 2026 plans aren’t 100-percent solidified, but the 26-year-old German driver is not completely ruling out the opportunity to race in IndyCar in the near future.
“I think obviously at some point I want to be sure about my future, so I think it won’t be too long until I make a decision. Whether that’s going to happen before or after I do an oval test, I do not know,” Schumacher said.
Mick Schumacher prepares for his run during the IndyCar test at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course on October 13, 2025. (Photo: Anthony Sylvia | The Podium Finish)
“Obviously the options are all there,” Schumacher said when asked if IndyCar is on the radar for 2026. “I think IndyCar is one of them, so I really just wanted to know what it was so that I can make my mind up.
“I definitely am interested in seeing some other tracks out there. Today was good to be here to see this track. It was definitely a fun one.”
The NTT IndyCar Series will hold a brief one-day Indy 500 oval test next week with Takuma Sato, Rossi, Alex Palou and Pato O’Ward. This will be the final test of 2025 before teams will return to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in April of 2026 for the full-field open oval test.
