While Mick Schumacher is competing in the Indy 500 for the first time this weekend, his father, Michael Schumacher, deliberately never entered the race
The legendary Indianapolis 500 is set to take place this weekend in the U.S. For the first time, former Formula 1 driver Mick Schumacher will also be on the starting grid this year. His father, Michael Schumacher, on the other hand, always deliberately chose not to participate in the Indy 500 during his own career.
In the early 2000s, “Schumi” explained in an interview with CBS: “First of all, it’s a step backward compared to Formula 1. And second, it’s too dangerous.” The seven-time world champion also made it clear: “I have nothing to prove there. I don’t see any challenge in it.”
Many years later, his brother Ralf Schumacher echoed this sentiment, advising his nephew Mick against switching to the IndyCar Series. “If it were [my son] David, I would oppose it because it would simply be too dangerous for me,” he said in 2025 on Sky’s Backstage Boxengasse podcast.
Michael Schumacher explained it this way at the time: “If you have an accident, if you’re driving so close to the wall at such speeds, there’s no chance that a chassis can survive a certain kind of crash. That means your legs will be badly injured—or even worse.”
Nevertheless, over the years there have been several Formula 1 drivers who also competed in the Indy 500. With Jim Clark, Graham Hill, Mario Andretti, Emerson Fittipaldi, and Jacques Villeneuve, as many as five Formula 1 world champions have won at least once in Indianapolis during their careers.
In 2026, alongside Mick Schumacher, four other drivers—Alexander Rossi, Takuma Sato, Marcus Ericsson, and Romain Grosjean—will be on the starting grid at the Indy 500, all of whom have previously competed in the premier class.
Incidentally, Michael Schumacher also raced in Indianapolis—though only on the Grand Prix circuit where Formula 1 held races between 2000 and 2007. He always considered the legendary oval too dangerous.
