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Mick Schumacher is at risk of losing his IndyCar seat at Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing after just one season. This surprise comes as reports about the first-ever charter sale in IndyCar, that of RLL’s No. 47 car currently occupied by Schumacher, emerge.
Reporter Tony Donohue first reported this on July 13, claiming that RLL’s charter sale to Dreyer and Reinbold Racing was a “done deal.” Currently, DRR only fields one-off entries at the Indy 500.
On Sunday, RACER’s Marshall Pruett reported that this story was indeed in the works. In a video on his YouTube channel, Pruett said:
“(I) actually heard yesterday, actually late on Saturday, so I haven’t had a chance to chase this down, but I was told the sale has been approved.”
IndyCar introduced the charter system in 2025. So RLL’s reported charter sale to DRR would become the first of a kind.
Pruett mentioned that RLL would downsize to two full-time cars in 2027. Revealing who the driver would be for DRR, he added in the YT video:
“Conor Daly is the only driver I’ve heard associated with the car. I would hope for Conor’s sake that he is indeed the person in that car.”
Daly competed for DRR at the 2026 Indy 500 and is considered an oval specialist. Though his candidacy isn’t confirmed, it seems unlikely that DRR will sign Mick Schumacher. The former F1 driver has had an underwhelming rookie season so far and is dead last in the standings among full-time drivers.
In 11 of 18 races, he hasn’t finished in the Top 15, let alone the Top 10. A 16th place at the Bommarito Automotive Group 500 has been his best result. Meanwhile, veteran teammate Graham Rahal has surprisingly secured three podiums, and other teammate Louis Foster has two Top 10s.
Even if Schumacher were to lose his seat and exit IndyCar after 2026, it still wouldn’t be the biggest story of the silly season.
IndyCar silly season hinges on Christian Lundgaard and Chip Ganassi
Earlier this month, Arrow McLaren shook up the IndyCar driver market by signing six-time IndyCar champion Scott Dixon and 2026 Indy 500 winner Felix Rosenqvist in a shock move. The team announced it would let go of Nolan Siegel and Christian Lundgaard.
While Siegel getting the axe was somewhat expected, Lundgaard, who has been the team’s best performer this year, wasn’t on anyone’s silly season radar. But now, he is the face of it.
Per Brazilian publication Grande Premio, Chip Ganassi Racing has already signed Lundgaard to fill Dixon’s coveted No. 9 Honda. But this report has yet to be confirmed.
Though Marshall Pruett couldn’t pin this move down as done, on the aforementioned YouTube video, he revealed that he heard some conversations had taken place.
“I’ve heard they’ve spoken to Christian,” said Pruett. “I don’t know if that’s true or not, but I have heard that he may have even paid a visit to the shop there.”
Even Rinus Veekay has been linked to that seat, but Juncos Hollinger Racing reportedly wants to retain him for 2027.
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