– While Mick Schumacher’s rookie season in the IndyCar series on road and street courses did not go as planned, the son of Formula 1 legend Michael Schumacher has surprisingly impressed on ovals. This is evidenced by the unofficial “Oval Ranking” in the 2026 IndyCar series.
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The 27-year-old collected 97 championship points over the six races in Phoenix, Indianapolis, St. Louis, Nashville, and Milwaukee (two races). His teammates at Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, Louis Foster and Graham Rahal, have 79 and 65 points respectively.
Overall, the 97 points place Schumacher 17th in the unofficial oval ranking. Foster and Rahal are in positions 19 and 22. The most oval points were earned by Penske driver David Malukas with 225.
Photo gallery: Mick Schumacher’s results in the 2026 IndyCar season
He also has the edge over the rookies: Dennis Hauger scored 60 points for Dale Coyne Racing in the six oval races, Caio Collet at Foyt only 44. They occupy positions 24 and 25.
What’s still possible in the rookie ranking?
In addition, Mick Schumacher was the strongest rookie in the second half of the season with 116 points since Road America. Collet collected 94 points in the same period, Hauger 90.
Due to the weak first half of the season, he is still behind Hauger in the rookie ranking, even though he has now clearly left Collet behind after his horror weekend at the Milwaukee Mile.
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Schumacher (205 points) is 18 points behind Hauger (223), who also holds 22nd place in the overall standings. The top 22 drivers enjoy the prize money pool of the Leaders Circle.
18 points are hard to make up in IndyCar if you are not at the very front of the field. Because larger point gaps only exist up to fourth place, after that the difference per place is only two points, from tenth place only one.
That means: Even if Hauger were to finish 25th and last in the ranking, which still gives five points, Schumacher would need an eighth place to overtake him. Every driver who starts the race receives points, even in case of retirement.
A points tie would only help Schumacher if he finishes eighth or better. Both Hauger and Schumacher have an eighth place as their best result. After that, Hauger has a tenth, Schumacher an eleventh place. In the scenario Schumacher eighth, Hauger 24th, the German would overtake due to the better single result.
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At the same time, Collet could still overtake if he scores 13 points more than Schumacher. If Schumacher finishes last, Collet would need a twelfth place to pass him.
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