Indianapolis, IN
Ex-Formula 1 Driver Mick Schumacher Tests IndyCar At Indianapolis
Former Formula 1 Driver Mick Schumacher prepares for his first IndyCar test on October 13.
IndyCar Photo by Joe Skibinski
The famed “Schumacher” name returned to the race course at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on October 13, as former Formula 1 driver Mick Schumacher completed his first team in an Indy car.
The 26-year-old son of Formula 1 Champion Michael Schumacher drove a Rahal Letterman Lanigan Honda around the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course on Monday. His father, the first seven-time Formula One World Champion, is the all-time leader for wins on the IMS Road Course with five between 2000 to 2006.
However, the current IMS road course is a different layout than the one that was used for the United States Grand Prix at IMS from 2000 to 2007.
Schumacher drove the No. 75 Honda in an IndyCar trial with Rahal Letterman Lanigan.
Mick Schumacher crosses the famed “Yard of Bricks” at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
IndyCar Photo Joe Skibinski
Schumacher’s Initial Impressions
Schumacher elaborated on his first IndyCar drive after Monday’s test session concluded.
“It was obviously good to get to know the car, get to know the team,” Schumacher said. “I think we managed to get through all the run plan and the test items we wanted to do, so obviously very happy with that.
“I think we’re stoked about what the lap times are doing, and I think it wasn’t a main target, but still it went pretty well. I’m happy about today.”
Schumacher arrived in Indianapolis early last Friday to visit the team and have a seat-fitted to his body for the test. Afterwards, he spent time in the Honda simulator in nearby Brownsburg, Indiana to learn the new style of racing machine.
“I think it was a great preparation,” he said. “I think it was really important for me to kind of get to see how a race weekend would run out, and I think it was kind of close to that.
“It was good to have the time with the team also back in the factory before I came out to the test. The simulator itself was a great opportunity for me to get a taste of the car before actually driving it, so it wouldn’t be a complete surprise, even though it wouldn’t have been. It was actually pretty close to what I’m used to and what I’ve driven before.
“It was very productive and very happy about the preparation we’ve done.”
Although this is an IndyCar trial, Schumacher admitted he would be open to an IndyCar opportunity as early as next season.
“I think in terms of what I’m doing in 2026, it’s very open,” he 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.”
Schumacher’s Testing Results Fare Well Against Other IndyCar Drivers
Schumacher’s test day on the 14-turn, 2.439-mile IMS road course was shared with NTT IndyCar Series veterans Alexander Rossi and Christian Rasmussen of Ed Carpenter Racing along with INDY NXT by Firestone drivers Caio Collet (AJ Foyt Racing), Dennis Hauger (Dale Coyne Racing), Lochie Hughes (Andretti Global) and James Roe (Juncos Hollinger Racing).
Dennis Hauger climbs into the Dale Coyne Racing Honda during a test session at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on October 13, 2025.
CHRIS OWENS 2025 IG:@CHRISOWENS CHRISOWENSPHOTOGRAPHY.COM
It was the first time Schumacher returned to an open-wheel, single-seater race car since the final race of the 2022 F1 World Championship season. Since then, he has served as a Formula 1 reserve driver and competed in the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) in sports cars.
“I think that’s what is kind of attracting me to it,” Schumacher admitted. “I love having open wheels. I think one of the things my dad always said was, ‘the Schumacher’s are usually faster if they can see their wheels.’
“I kind of do like that quote. I think it’s just the appeal of racing 17 times a year.”
Schumacher attended the 109th Indianapolis 500 earlier in May and was amazed with the spectacle and the crowd.
Although he has never competed on an oval track, Monday’s focus was adapting to the Indy car on the road course.
Dennis Hauger was the fastest around the 2.439-mile, 14-turn road course with a best lap of 1:10.768. Rossi was second for Ed Carpenter Racing at 1:10.858 and Schumacher was third at 1:10.980. He was followed by Collet’s 1:11.048, Hughes at 1:11.356, Rasmussen at 1:11.493 and Roe’s 1:11.600.
Because it was a test session, all times are “unofficial.”
Schumacher Comfortable Back In An Open Wheel Race Car
The driver with an impressive racing heritage was most happy to see his wheels again.
“I did enjoy the track,” Schumacher said. “It was good. Obviously very old-school. I like it. You get punished if you make a little mistake, but not in a bad way. You just go off into the grass, for example.
“I love seeing my wheels, for sure. It’s obviously a bit different to all the single seaters that I’ve driven so far, as we have Aeroscreen, so it was getting kind of hot at times, and air flow is a bit difficult, but those are all things you’re kind of getting used to and understanding about what those little change and differences are.
“I think there’s great potential in safety in that Aeroscreen, so I think that’s where why everybody is very happy about it. Nonetheless, maybe the disadvantages it brings, like air flow. Yeah, I think it’s been fun. It’s been good to see the car, and it’s been fun to drive it.”
Mick Schumacher celebrating the 2020 F2 Championship. (Photo by Joe Portlock – Formula 1/Formula 1 via Getty Images)
Formula 1 via Getty Images
Schumacher compared the current Indy car to the Formula 2 car that he once drove to the championship. He noted the car is a little heavier in terms of steering. IndyCar does not use power steering, unlike other forms of racing.
“You have to be a bit more aggressive (with the Indy car),” Schumacher explained. “You can be more aggressive. The tires do take quite a bit of that, let’s say, rigid driving. Yeah, there’s a lot of fun in that. There’s a lot of fun. I think every aspect has their benefits and negatives.
“It has been good to see. It’s been good to see the difference, and I think both have their flare.”
Schumacher’s IndyCar Decision Remains Down the Road
A decision on whether Schumacher will join IndyCar is “quite far down the road” the driver said.
“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,” Schumacher continued. “Whether that’s going to happen before or after I do an oval test, I do not know.
“I still have got to let everything sink in a bit, figure it out, and yeah, I guess I have to decide down the line. It’s hard to say how high the percentage is.
“Today has been very fun, but yeah, I guess I’ve got to analyze a bit more and see what, yeah, that would look like.”
But the No. 1 thing that Schumacher finds attractive about IndyCar is the style of racing depends more on the driver than the technology of the racing machine.
In Formula 1, the most successful drivers have the most technologically advanced race car.
“The fact that they rely so heavily on the driver is something that really spiked my interest and made it interesting for me to come out and try,” Schumacher concluded.
Mick Schumacher flashes by the famed Indianapolis Motor Speedway “Winged Wheels” log.
IndyCar Photo
INDIANAPOLIS — One person is in critical condition following a shooting on Indy’s near east side.
According to the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department, around 8:10 p.m., officers were called to the 2000 block of East Washington Street on reports of a person shot.
Upon arrival, police located a 50-year-old man with injuries consistent with a gunshot wound.
He is currently reported to be in extremely critical condition.
No additional information has been made available at the time of this article’s publication.
This is a developing story; check back for updates.
The Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission on June 17 gave AES the nod to raise electricity rates enough to earn an additional $71 million each year, a decision that drew reproof from Indiana lawmakers who called it another blow to cost-burdened consumers.
The approved rate represents less than half of the $192 million increase that AES initially requested. It’s also less than the $91 million increase proposed in an October settlement agreement between AES, the city of Indianapolis and major electricity consumers like Kroger and Walmart.
But the new rate is still significantly more than what the Indiana Office of Utility Consumer Counselor, the state agency representing ratepayers in the case, recommended in September. The OUCC’s proposal would have capped AES’s annual operating revenue at $21 million less than the current level.
The rate increase authorizes AES to earn a total of nearly $2 billion each year, or an estimated $384 million in profit.
The higher base rate comes as a double whammy for Indianapolis-area households, who are already paying more for electricity this summer after AES temporarily raised rates to account for higher-than-anticipated fuel costs during last winter’s storms. The increase also arrives against the backdrop of inflation, which rose to a three-year high last month, and surging gas prices due to the war in Iran.
Gov. Mike Braun wrote in a Wednesday post to X that he was “deeply disappointed” by the IURC’s approval of the rate increase.
“Hoosiers have spent years tightening their belts and making tough financial decisions,” Braun wrote. “It’s time for utility companies to do the same.”
The IURC’s decision also drew fire from the other side of the aisle. In a June 17 news release, five Democrats representing Indianapolis in the state Senate – J.D. Ford, Andrea Hunley, La Keisha Jackson, Fady Qaddoura, and Greg Taylor – chastised Indiana’s Republican supermajority for failing to rein in rising utility costs.
“Hoosiers pay more. Monopoly utilities collect more. And the leaders in the super-majority who promise affordability over and over again show those are just empty words,” the news release said. “Instead, they continue to defend a system that takes more and more out of our paychecks.”
The consumer advocacy group Citizens Action Coalition also slammed the rate increase. Ben Inskeep, CAC’s program director, said the decision left him “less optimistic that this commission is willing to do things differently and to actually hold utilities accountable.”
He said the IURC should have penalized AES for issues that plagued customers after the utility updated its billing system in 2023, including duplicated withdrawals for the same monthly bill.
The rate increase will take effect in two phases, with rates going up in July 2026 and January 2027. AES officials anticipate the hikes “will be less than $5 per month per phase” for a household that uses 1,000 kilowatt hours of electricity per month, according to a Wednesday news release from the utility.
“The IURC’s decision reflects a thorough, transparent process and balances the need for continued investment in the electric system with a focus on customer affordability,” the news release stated.
Under a state law that Braun signed in February, AES cannot ask for another increase to its base rate until January 2030 — though electricity bills could still go up for other reasons, like the fuel adjustment charge hitting consumers this month.
Three members of the five-member IURC signed off on the rate increase: Andy Zay, David Veleta, and David Ziegner. Commissioner Bob Deig dissented. Commissioner Anthony Swinger recused himself from the decision because he worked on the AES rate case for the OUCC before he was appointed to the IURC by Braun in January.
“None of this was taken lightly,” Zay, the IURC’s chair, said at the Wednesday hearing, adding that the commission and its staff had carefully weighed concerns about affordability. The commissioners did not go into further detail at the hearing.
But the commission’s order shows some of the debates that played out during the rate case. One point of contention was AES’s authorized return on equity — that is, how much the utility can earn each year in profits. Other disputes hinged on how AES forecasts its operating expenses.
The OUCC accused AES of including more than 100 “phantom hires,” vacant positions it did not necessarily intend to fill in its calculations. Last year, AES said that the rising costs of vegetation management, or trimming trees around power lines, also drove the need to raise rates. The OUCC recommended keeping vegetation management costs flat.
One factor that’s not driving higher prices? Data centers.
AES does not currently provide service to any data centers and did not include them in its calculations, AES president Brandi Davis-Handy said in testimony before the IURC.
Tilly Robinson is a Pulliam fellow for the Indianapolis Star. She can be reached at tilly.robinson@indystar.com.
Interactive radar | Weather alerts by county
WATCH LIVE COVERAGE
(WRTV) — A tornado watch has been issued through 1 a.m. EDT Thursday for much of Indiana, the National Weather Service’s Storm Prediction Center said.
The watch area covers 47 of Indiana’s 92 counties, and includes Indianapolis and its surrounding counties.
Counties in the watch area are Bartholomew, Blackford, Boone, Brown, Carroll, Cass, Clay, Clinton, Daviess, Decatur, Delaware, Fountain, Grant, Greene, Hamilton, Hancock, Hendricks, Henry, Howard, Huntington, Jackson, Jay, Jennings, Johnson, Knox, Lawrence, Madison, Marion, Martin, Miami, Monroe, Montgomery, Morgan, Owen, Parke, Putnam, Randolph, Rush, Shelby, Sullivan, Tippecanoe, Tipton, Vermillion, Vigo, Wabash, Warren, and White.
WRTV Meteorologist Ryan Morse says Wednesday afternoon’s rain was the first of two rounds coming to the Hoosier state. A line of supercells were expected to form in Illinois and travel into central Indiana.
In neighboring Illinois, dozens of counties are under a tornado watch until 10 p.m. CDT/11 p.m. EST.
All threats of severe weather were on the table: damaging wind, strong tornadoes, large hail, and flooding.
Severe storms should exit Indiana in the early morning hours.
WISH-TV Meteorologist Keith Gibson says people should have multiple ways of getting alerts and have electronic devices fully charged in case they lose power.
The next chance for rain after these storms could be on Saturday.
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