Mick Schumacher teases career reboot after Alpine WEC split
Mick Schumacher has confirmed his departure from Alpine's WEC team.
Mick Schumacher has bid farewell to Alpine’s World Endurance Championship team, ahead of an rumoured move to IndyCar.
The German driver and Alpine’s sportscar squad in the WEC have confirmed the former Haas F1 driver won’t be behind the wheel of one of its cars in 2026.
Mick Schumacher splits with Alpine
Mick Schumacher has confirmed he will leave the Alpine squad after two seasons in the FIA World Endurance Championship with the French manufacturer.
The 2020 FIA Formula 2 Champion, son of seven-time Formula 1 world champion Michael Schumacher, raced for Haas in Formula 1 in 2021 and ’22.
With Haas starting afresh with experienced drivers in 2023, Schumacher was left on the sidelines and found refuge with Mercedes as its F1 reserve, as well as arriving at Alpine in the World Endurance Championship for a racing programme.
He helped guide the Alpine A424 prototype to its first WEC podium at the 2024 6 Hours of Fuji, sharing the car with Nicolas Lapierre and Matthieu Vaxiviere.
This season, Schumacher partnered with Jules Gounon and Frederic Makowiecki, taking the No. 36 Alpine to podiums at Imola and Spa, along with a 10th-place result at the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
In a message posted on his social media, Schumacher confirmed his departure from Alpine, “I’m very grateful for these past two years with Alpine Endurance Team. I’ve learnt so much on and off track, and I’m thankful to everyone who’s been a part of it. I wish them the very best for the future.”
The French manufacturer responded with its own comment, highlighting the amiability of the split: “What great memories we’ve shared over the past two years. Thank you, Mick, for your hard work, dedication and all your contributions to Alpine Endurance Team. Wishing you all the best for the future.”
With Schumacher teasing his fans with a “Stay tuned for 2026” message, it appears likely that the German driver is set for a full-time racing programme in the US racing series IndyCar.
In October, he completed a test with IndyCar squad Rahal Letterman Lanigan at Indianapolis, and didn’t rule out the possibility of making a swap to the series.
“IndyCar comes the closest to what I can still race,” Schumacher said, who cannot return to F2 as a series champion.
“IndyCar might be a good option. Obviously, my target for the past couple of years has been to go back to Formula 1, but that option hasn’t quite opened up this year, or the years previous to that. So, at some point I want to race again in single-seaters, and therefore (this) option is a good one.”
Schumacher’s experience in WEC saw him race against the likes of Sebastien Bourdais, a veteran of the US racing scene, and the German driver said the idea of a high-profile single-seater career is appealing, even if it’s not F1.
“I’m still young, so I do want to race as much as I can, and I think the people here really live motorsports,” he said.
“I also like the mentality of the driver being the main part of the team and driving the team forward.”
On the specifics of a switch to race for Rahal Letterman Lanigan, Schumacher said it’s a decision that lies “with both sides”.
“I think obviously in this moment, I guess it’s mostly on my end because I have to figure out if I want to do IndyCar or not,” he said.
“We all have a couple of days and weeks to think about it and see what opportunities there are for the future.
“But so far, so good.”
While Schumacher’s test was on the Indy road course, he expressed an interest in carrying out an oval test.
“I think it would be wrong to just do one part,” he said. “If I were to commit, I’d like to commit to it fully.”
Schumacher had also been linked with a potential move to Cadillac’s F1 team as a reserve driver, dovetailing with a potential campaign with Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA in the WEC.
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