Former Haas Formula 1 driver Mick Schumacher completed his first IndyCar test at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course back in October, and it has long felt that the decision on whether to join the American open-wheel racing series full-time in 2026 is fully up to him.
Schumacher completed the test with Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing. On paper, all three Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing seats were taken for 2026, with veteran Graham Rahal set to return to the No. 15 Honda, Devlin DeFrancesco set to return to the No. 30 Honda, and Rookie of the Year Louis Foster set to return to the No. 45 Honda.
But with the links to Schumacher, it emerged that DeFrancesco could be on his way out, due to a suspected performance clause in his contract that he failed to meet during his first season with the team.
Devlin DeFrancesco out at RLL Racing?
He placed 26th of 27 full-time drivers in the 2025 championship standings and did not finish a single race inside the top 10. In his previous ride with Andretti Autosport, he failed to record a top 10 finish over two whole seasons (2022 and 2023).
Additionally, the team just announced a multi-year extension for Foster, while despite DeFrancesco's initial "multi-year" deal, nothing has been said about his own future with the team. They have also hinted that they want to move away from a pay driver model for the third seat, which would all but disqualify the Canadian from contention.
Now Schumacher has confirmed that he has departed from Alpine after two seasons competing for their Hypercar team in the World Endurance Championship, a move that many believe will precede an announcement that he will officially join the NTT IndyCar Series in 2026.
The move would inevitably leave DeFrancesco without a seat.
Aside from the No. 30 Honda, there is just one seat remaining without a confirmed driver for the 2026 season, and that is unsurprisingly the second Dale Coyne Racing Honda. Dale Coyne's team have historically tended to be the final team to shore up their driver lineup each year.
Whether reigning Indy NXT champion Dennis Hauger, who has joined the team through a technical alliance with Andretti Global, drives the No. 18 car or the No. 51 car remains to be seen.
Rinus VeeKay, who drove the No. 18 car in 2025, has moved to Juncos Hollinger Racing. Jacob Abel, who placed last in the standings behind the wheel of the No. 51 car, is not confirmed to be returning (or not returning).
Abel, like DeFrancesco, is a pay driver, so even if the team opt to go that route again in 2026, perhaps Schumacher's arrival would simply result in DeFrancesco moving to a new team, rather than being out of the series altogether.
The 2026 IndyCar season is scheduled to begin on Sunday, March 1 on the streets of St. Petersburg, Florida. All 17 races are set to be shown live on Fox.