Mick Schumacher was approached by the new Opel GSE Formula E team last year with a view to trying to get the former F1 driver in to one of its race seats.
Formula E Notebook has discovered that Schumacher and his team had a discussion with Opel executives about the possibility of racing in Formula E but that it was quickly discounted as Schumacher wanted to race in Indycar.
He was announced as a driver for the Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing team last November after completing a second season in the FIA World Endurance Championship with the Alpine squad. He is expected to move across to the Meyer-Shank squad for the 2027 Indycar campaign.
Schumacher had kept a role in F1 as a reserve driver with Mercedes and McLaren but with next to no opportunity to continue his F1 career, he looked at other series around the globe.
FEN has learned that Formula E was relatively low on Schumacher’s desirable list of programmes to become involved with but this was prior to any footage of the Gen4 in testing being issued.
Opel had some pressure from its board to run a German driver but this dissipated somewhat earlier this year around the time that Tim Tramnitz was tested in private Gen4 testing.
Tramnitz and eventual signing Theo Pourchaire were tried out at the same test with Pourchaire said to be the much more attractive option at that stage. Shortly after the test Tramnitz was selected to become a BMW factory driver.
When Mitch Evans was known to be available at the end of 2025, Opel moved quickly, having spoken to the vast majority of drivers in the Formula E paddock ever since it first visited it in early 2025.
While Opel would not comment specifically on the Schumacher talks it is known that their approach and subsequent talks have at least opened up a relationship with the Schumacher camp and could be revisited in future.
Why Evans move is big for Opel
Mitch Evans can help accelerate Opel GSE Formula E Teams’ performance immediately according to its leader Joerg Schrott.
Speaking at the media launch of the Opel Corsa GSE model, Schrott said that Evans “has a way of leadership which is driven definitely by performance and by professionalism, and not by, how can I say this, by political dominance.
“This is also making a perfect pairing him with the young talent because I believe that Theo can learn a lot from him,” added Schrott.
“He will share his experience he made already over so many years in Formula E. To sum it up, Mitch gives us the rare opportunity of proven winning capabilities, of excellent, extraordinary energy management and race tactics and elite pace, and very structured technical feedback.
“I’m pretty sure he will so accelerate the competitiveness course of Opel pretty soon. And therefore, he is he right guy,” concluded Schrott.
Evans added that a visit to Satory (where Stellantis Motorsport are based) early in 2026 was a crucial part of his reason to join Opel.
“I saw the facilities. I saw the direction, kind of the energy and dedication Opel were going to put into it, and for me, it sat well. I really just felt kind of at home straight away.”
Evans is testing the Gen4 car at several tracks next month before it is homologated by the FIA in early October.
Main image: DPPI
