Off-Season Shifts Powering IndyCar Teams in 2026

The NTT IndyCar Series rarely stands still during the off-season, and 2026 has delivered a fresh round of personnel moves, partnerships and driver pairings designed to sharpen competitive edges across the field.

Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing enters the year with one of the most talked-about changes on the grid: the addition of Formula One veteran Mick Schumacher to a lineup that already includes Graham Rahal and Louis Foster. Schumacher pilots the No. 47 Honda, and Foster described the new teammate in straightforward terms.

“He’s a nice guy,” Foster said. “He’s very in tune, wants to learn, humble guy. Also has a lot of knowledge of racing in lots of different categories. So it’s helpful for the team.”

Rahal views Schumacher’s arrival as more than a roster update. He sees it as an opportunity for the German driver to escape the political pressures of Formula One and reconnect with the core appeal of open-wheel racing.

“I hope that this is a fresh start for him in his career and giving him a fresh outlook on getting back to the purity of racing,” Rahal explained. “Getting back to why we all truly fell in love with this.”

Rahal stressed that success on track remains the priority, but he believes the IndyCar environment — free of the layers of external drama — can help Schumacher enjoy the sport again while contributing to team results. The changes at Rahal Letterman Lanigan extend well beyond the cockpit. President Jay Frye, who joined the organization mid-2025, has been instrumental in strengthening the team’s foundation. Foster credited Frye directly for major improvements.

“Jay’s been monumental to me,” he said. “My sponsor, Mick, Mick’s sponsor. You know, a lot of things, especially financially with the team, have improved massively, honestly, because of Jay.”

Additional hires from outside the IndyCar paddock, including engineering and operational personnel, have brought new perspectives. Foster acknowledged that integration takes time as newcomers adapt to the team’s workflow, but he described the direction as positive and gradual. The combination of financial stability, leadership reinforcement and a high-profile driver addition positions Rahal Letterman Lanigan to chase consistent top finishes in 2026.

At AJ Foyt Racing, Santino Ferrucci enters his latest campaign with renewed optimism thanks to both personnel stability and a promising new teammate. Rookie Caio Collet drives the No. 4 Combitrans Amazona Chevrolet alongside Ferrucci’s No. 14 Homes for Our Troops entry. Ferrucci has been impressed by Collet’s willingness to collaborate from day one.

“He’s actually able to want to start on my setups and then help me go in different directions than himself,” Ferrucci said. “It’s the first time that I’ve seen that in a minute. It’s nice to see that he wants to be a team player.”

The mutual respect stands in contrast to previous experiences, and Ferrucci believes it will accelerate development for both drivers.

Beyond the driver pairing, AJ Foyt Racing benefits from continuity that has been rare in recent years. The engineering staff remains intact throughout the season, and there has been no significant crew turnover. Ferrucci highlighted how that stability allows relationships to deepen over the winter months. Familiar faces building and preparing cars together create a foundation that pays dividends when the season begins. For a program that has shown flashes of speed in recent campaigns, the combination of a cooperative rookie and an unchanged core group could translate to more consistent results.

Arrow McLaren’s Christian Lundgaard detailed a calculated off-season testing strategy that prioritized long-term gains over short-term lap-time heroics. At Sebring the team intentionally started with a package known to be uncompetitive in order to isolate and correct weaknesses.

“We took a very different approach to Sebring than I think any other team or car did,” Lundgaard explained. “Kind of show up with something we knew didn’t work and try to fix it.”

The philosophy aims to reduce the number of surprise bad weekends during the regular season when practice time remains extremely limited. Lundgaard feels the additional mileage has the team better prepared, though he cautioned that true validation arrives only when the transporter unloads at the first race venue.

Andretti Global has leaned heavily on the experience of newcomer Will Power, whose technical acumen has already influenced the program. Marcus Ericsson described extended debrief sessions in Sebring and Phoenix where Power’s observations on car feel and setup direction closely mirrored his own.

“It’s been really encouraging,” Ericsson said, “and I felt already in Phoenix and in Sebring we were making steps in the right direction.”

Ericsson values Power’s attention to detail and believes the alignment on key priorities will accelerate progress for the No. 28 Delaware Life Andretti Global Honda. The partnership brings one of the series’ most accomplished qualifiers into a team hungry to return to victory lane.

Team Penske continues its tradition of high-caliber internal movement with Scott McLaughlin now working alongside a new race engineer who is a longtime personal and professional acquaintance. The addition of Tim Cindric — a strategist renowned for championship-winning calls — on McLaughlin’s stand represents another layer of depth. McLaughlin also spoke positively about early chemistry with teammate David Malukas.

“We’ve honestly worked really well together,” he said. “I’ve really enjoyed him coming on board.” The mutual respect, despite a history of on-track friction, suggests the pairing could produce strong results for the Chevrolet-powered team.

Dale Coyne Racing’s Dennis Hauger emphasized the value of the team’s data-sharing partnership with Andretti Global. While setups and dampers remain separate, the arrangement delivers debrief videos, insights and open lines of communication that have sharpened his preparation. Hauger praised teammate Romain Grosjean’s experience and willingness to share feedback during testing.

“It’s been really good,” Hauger said. “We’ve had the two test days together, he’s obviously got a lot of experience, especially in Sebring… I could listen to him on the radio, see what he thinks about the setup that I went through.”

Across the paddock these off-season developments — leadership hires, engineering reinforcements, veteran-rookie pairings and technical collaborations — reflect a clear intent to close gaps and elevate performance. As teams continuing preparations for the season-opening Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg, the early indicators point to deeper resources, stronger internal dynamics and renewed driver chemistry that could produce tighter competition from the drop of the green flag Sunday.