– After a demanding and exhausting race at the premiere event of the IndyCar series on the street circuit in Washington, D.C., Mick Schumacher can draw an entirely positive conclusion. The son of Formula 1 legend Michael Schumacher showed a fighting performance in the Dallara-Honda of Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing (RLL) on Sunday and narrowly missed the top 10 by finishing eleventh. It is his best result so far on a road course in his rookie season.
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The starting position ahead of the “Freedom 250” on the streets of the US capital was not exactly in favor of the 27-year-old: After 20th place in qualifying, Schumacher had to accept a six-place grid penalty due to an unauthorized engine change. Starting from 24th position in the second to last row, it was mainly about keeping a cool head on the course riddled with bumps.
Schumacher demonstrated good tire and fuel management, made optimal use of the available strategy options, and gradually worked his way forward during the pit stop cycles. Especially in the turbulent final phase, which was marked by several yellow flags, he showed determination.
Although he had to briefly let Romain Grosjean pass at the final restart, he immediately fought back and overtook Alexander Rossi. After the late incidents involving Scott McLaughlin and Felix Rosenqvist, Schumacher ultimately came close to breaking into the top 10 and secured eleventh place. This made him the best RLL driver ahead of his experienced teammate Graham Rahal in 13th place.
Mick Schumacher: “A bunch of points”
“We tried to keep our nose clean, and I think we managed that reasonably well,” Schumacher summed up afterwards. “With all the bumps and everything, it’s a pretty tough track. The race demands a lot in many ways, but it was good. Despite all the things thrown at us, we still did a decent job and finished eleventh. That’s a bunch of points.”
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For the IndyCar rookie, the result represents an important step on traditional tracks. Although Schumacher had already achieved a top-10 result on an oval as eighth at his season highlight in Nashville, a success experience was still missing on road courses.
With the experience gained, Schumacher goes into the final phase of his debut season strengthened. In the championship standings, he is currently 24th overall with 170 points and has made ground in the fight for the title in the rookie classification.
There is no time to catch his breath for the German: The next test on the oval is already scheduled for the coming weekend with the double-header at the Milwaukee Mile.
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