Mick Schumacher is getting ready for his first IndyCar season with Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing this weekend in St. Pete. But before the former F1 star stepped foot behind the wheel of an IndyCar, Schumacher had spent two seasons with Alpine, racing in the World Endurance Championship.

It was recently announced that the French manufacturer would be shutting its doors at the end of 2026, ending a short run for Alpine in WEC’s top class. Over the past two seasons, Alpine has one overall victory at Fuji, along with three podiums during that span.

The team will continue its operations through the end of the year, with one final run at Le Mans, but Schumacher shared his thoughts regarding the end of an era for the brand.

“Honestly, I was a bit shocked when I read it,” Schumacher said to GT REPORT. “I mean, we were pretty open with one another, and I don’t think that was something that was on their minds when I was there. So when I read it, I was pretty, like I said, shocked and pretty sad to see the program go because I think it was a great program.”

Although Schumacher spent some time with Alpine, the ultimate goal was never to stay.

With his focus on open-wheel racing, the goal for Schumacher was always to return to top-level single-seaters.

“My aim was always to be in single seaters,” Schumacher stated. “The endurance program that I did was more of a potential-to-stay-in-contention portfolio. That’s why I did it. I mean, I had offers to come over here already before that, but I kind of chose to wait a little bit to see what options were there, essentially.”

Schumacher’s first opportunity for on-track action begins this afternoon with IndyCar practice.