Mick Schumacher tested an IndyCar for the first time on Monday and said the series could be the next-best thing for him if he remains unable to find a seat in Formula 1.

He graduated to the world championship after winning the Formula 2 title in 2020. However Haas dropped him after two seasons, at which point he also left Ferrari’s Driver Academy.

The son of seven-times F1 world champion Michael Schumacher spent the last two seasons racing for Alpine in the World Endurance Championship. However he is keen to return to single-seaters and tested for Rahal Letterman Lanigan at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course today.

Speaking during the test, Schumacher spoke positively about the possibility of racing in the series.

“IndyCar comes the closest to what I can still race,” he said. “I can’t go back to [Formula 2] because I won a championship. IndyCar might be a good option.”

He indicated he would be willing to contest a full IndyCar championship, including races on ovals, which some F1 drivers such as his father have described as too dangerous.

“I think it would be wrong to just do one part of [the races],” he said. “If I were to commit, I’d like to commit to it fully.” Next year’s 17-race IndyCar season includes six races on ovals, one of which – the blue riband Indianapolis 500 – is a superspeedway.

“Frankly, it’s a great championship [with] 17 races,” he added. “I’m still young, so I do want to race as much as I can, and I think the people here really live motorsport. I also like the mentality of the driver being the main part of the team and driving the team forward.”

Pictures: Mick Schumacher’s IndyCar test debut

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