Mick Schumacher is set to compete in his first race as an IndyCar driver this weekend. On the street circuit in St. Petersburg, his Dallara-Honda from Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing (RLL) will bear the logo of bicycle manufacturer ENVE Composites. The car will feature a black design with red accents on the wings, engine cover, and side of the nose.
However, this is only the design for the season opener. After that, ENVE will become a “Major Associate Sponsor.” In IndyCar (and NASCAR), it is quite common for a car to change its livery several times during the season because different brands may have varying degrees of representation in different parts of the US.
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From a sporting perspective, Schumacher is full of anticipation ahead of the season opener, which he shared with the journalists present in St. Petersburg, which included Motorsport.com: “We’ve talked a lot about this weekend, and now it’s finally here. I’m sure it will be over pretty quickly. Usually, weekends like this, which you look forward to so much, go by very quickly.”
He immediately drew parallels between the Florida street course and traditional circuits in Europe and Asia: “In terms of the track, I think it’s similar to courses I’ve driven on in Formula 3, such as Macau and Pau. Yes, I’m really looking forward to gaining my first experience here.”
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Full of anticipation, but not nervous
However, there will be a few more laps than he is used to in a European Grand Prix. “There are a lot of laps. I’m not used to driving more than 100 laps on a race track. But I’m excited to see how the race will go for me.”
But he doesn’t describe himself as nervous either, adding: “To be honest, I’m hardly nervous. I’m mainly excited that it’s finally starting. That’s basically it,” he replies when asked by Motorsport.com. How are the other drivers feeling? How different is the race weekend from the tests? It will be exciting to see, and I’ll have to find my way.”
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Expectations for the result? Mick Schumacher doesn’t have any: “As far as position is concerned? There are no expectations. We expect to start the weekend well and finish it as well as possible. I think that’s really important for us. Essentially, it’s about learning what we need to learn.”
With Mick Schumacher as its figurehead, RLL is looking to make a fresh start in the 2026 IndyCar season after recent years with minimal success. In addition to notable personnel reinforcements, most notably former IndyCar president Jay Frye and Ryan Briscoe as driver coach, Mick Schumacher is the face of this realignment.
Translated from German
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