Ex-F1 star suffers early exit after making IndyCar debut

A former F1 star has had a dismal start to their career in IndyCar, as the season got underway with qualifying for the Grand Prix of St. Petersburg.

Having opted to leave the World Endurance Championship (WEC) at the end of last season, Mick Schumacher raced in the post-season test in IndyCar with Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing last October.

The former Haas F1 star was then handed a full-time seat for the 2026 IndyCar season with the same team, despite Valtteri Bottas urging the young German not to head to the American racing series out of fear that he would be forgotten in the F1 paddock.

Now, Schumacher has made his competitive debut in the series during qualifying, but was left red-faced by an early exit.

Schumacher was knocked out in Q1 at the season opener in St. Petersburg, failing to make it into the top six drivers within his group. He finished 11th out of 12 in group one, and will start the race from 21st.

Scott McLaughlin claimed pole position for Sunday's race for Team Penske, while Schumacher's two Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing team-mates qualified ninth and 18th respectively.

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Will Mick Schumacher return to F1 one day?

Schumacher was axed by Haas at the end of the 2022 season, and has not been seen on the F1 grid since, although he did take up a reserve driver role with Mercedes in 2023 and 2024.

Now 26 years of age, it's hard to envisage a return to the F1 grid in the future for the German, with his F2 title win from 2020 now fading into the distant past.

At Alpine's WEC team, at least it felt as though Schumacher was closely linked to the F1 team, although managing director Steve Nielsen revealed last season that Schumacher was not a consideration to replace the struggling Franco Colapinto.

Schumacher was also snubbed for a move to the new Cadillac team, with the American outfit instead opting for a more experienced duo of Sergio Perez and Valtteri Bottas.

The young German will be looking to get his racing career back on track in IndyCar this year, and will hope that 2026 can be the start of a very successful career in the single-seater series.

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