– Bad setback for Mick Schumacher (RLL-Honda): During the first pit stop at the Good Ranchers 250 at Phoenix International Raceway in Avondale, Arizona, his pit crew fumbled. The right front wheel wouldn’t come off.
Read more Toto Wolff’s concerns: Why the Australian race could turn into chaos
The reason was that the impact wrench on the front right failed. The mechanic had to run to the pit of his teammate Graham Rahal to get a replacement. As a result, the stop took disproportionately long.
Schumacher lost a lot of ground as a result and returned to the track directly in front of the long-time leaders. At that point, these were Josef Newgarden and David Malukas (both Penske-Chevrolet). Schumacher resisted being lapped, as allowed by IndyCar regulations, but ultimately both Penskes passed him in an impressive overtaking maneuver.
But hope is not yet buried. During yellow phases, Schumacher has the opportunity to make up the lost lap. He only has to make up the lost positions himself now.
Read more Audi Q3 (2026): New diesel with more power
Until then, Schumacher delivered a good performance in his first oval race. Starting from fourth place, he expectedly lost a few positions at first, as the significantly more experienced opponents assessed the grip more optimistically. Schumacher initially stayed in the top 10, even when an accident took out championship leader and serial winner Alex Palou (Ganassi-Honda) from the race.
Previously, there had already been a yellow phase when rookie Dennis Hauger (Coyne-Honda) lost control, but remarkably managed to prevent an impact and sped backwards at around 200 km/h along the former start/finish straight before bringing himself back in the right direction with a J-turn. An impressive display.
After two yellow phases, Schumacher initially stabilized in eleventh place until the fateful pit stop occurred. After 100 of 250 laps, Patricio “Pato” O’Ward (McLaren-Chevrolet) is in the lead, having moved to the front with an undercut.
Read more Formula 1 Singapore 2008 scandal: Felipe Massa with partial success in court
