– Once again, Mick Schumacher had to accept a setback in an IndyCar race: At the Arlington Grand Prix, the son of Formula 1 legend Michael Schumacher received a drive-through penalty because he spun Christian Lundgaard’s McLaren-Chevrolet during the starting phase of the race. (Update: This is how the race ended)
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The incident officially occurred on lap 2, but in principle it was still the opening lap because the race was not started at start/finish, but on the back straight. The field had not yet completely sorted itself out when the collision with Lundgaard occurred in Turn 5.
Schumacher drove into the rear of the American and spun him around. Lundgaard was able to continue under his own power. Schumacher also gained no advantage from the collision, as he had to drive around the McLaren and lost positions in the process. The drive-through penalty now sets him back significantly.
It was the first collision in an otherwise very disciplined opening lap, in which the previously feared chaos failed to materialize. Marcus Ericsson (Andretti-Honda) defended his pole position and leads ahead of Alex Palou (Ganassi-Honda) and Will Power (Andretti-Honda).
Nothing is lost yet for Schumacher, as street circuit races in IndyCar often bring unpredictable yellow phases that can turn the field upside down. Therefore, he was immediately told: “We have clear air now. It’s no big deal.”
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Several other vehicles also pitted early, however, to get rid of the unpopular soft tires. This included Scott Dixon (Ganassi-Honda), who is considered a strategy fox. After the penalty, Schumacher quickly made two pit stops to quickly check off the requirement to use two sets of soft tires. He will be hoping for an early yellow phase.
Nolan Siegel (McLaren-Chevrolet) also came in for a stop, and Kyffin Simpson also got rid of the first of two mandatory sets of soft tires. During this, there was a collision between Dixon and one of Simpson’s tires in the pits, which could also have consequences. Marcus Armstrong (Meyer-Shank-Honda) was also already in the pits, but due to a slow puncture.
The street race in Arlington began an hour earlier than planned due to a storm warning.
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