Mick Schumacher will face his predecessor at Haas, Romain Grosjean, in the 2026 IndyCar season—neither of them has ever raced against each other before.
Former Formula 1 driver Romain Grosjean is returning to IndyCar, setting up an intriguing duel: Grosjean will face Mick Schumacher for the first time, who replaced him at Haas for the 2021 Formula 1 season. While Schumacher drives for Team RLL, Grosjean will get a cockpit at Dale Coyne Racing, bringing him full circle.
The Frenchman, who also holds Swiss citizenship, switched to IndyCars after his premature departure from Formula 1 following a fire accident in Bahrain in 2020, and already drove for Dale Coyne in 2021, at that time in cooperation with Rick Ware Racing. He performed well for the backmarker team, finishing on the podium three times.
He then moved to Andretti, where he was unable to live up to the increased expectations and clashed with his teammate Colton Herta on several occasions. As a result, he was dismissed by Andretti, which led to a lawsuit. In 2024, he drove for Juncos Hollinger, and in the 2025 season, he was only given a reserve driver role with the debutant team Prema.
Now the 39-year-old is returning to his original team and will drive the familiar 18 car, which he already drove in the Sebring test. He will be teammate to rookie Dennis Hauger, who comes from Formula 2 and is considered Mick Schumacher’s closest rival in the rookie standings.
While Schumacher has an experienced mentor in Graham Rahal, Hauger will be able to look to Grosjean for guidance in the future. “The combination of an exceptional rookie like Dennis and a proven veteran like Romain gives us a strong competitive foundation,” says team owner Dale Coyne.
“We are bringing important parts of our history back together while building new global partnerships, so we are well positioned for 2026.”
The venture is being financed through a cryptocurrency and an AI investment app. Grosjean will even become a brand ambassador for the former. Milton ‘Todd’ Ault, founder of the aforementioned companies, says: “Romain is the perfect global ambassador for the brand. His history and professionalism embody exactly what we stand for.”
