– Grueling continuation of the first IndyCar race in Milwaukee 2026 for Mick Schumacher (RLL-Honda; 12th): On lap 150 of 250, the son of Formula 1 legend Michael Schumacher was forced into a spin when he got too close to Romain Grosjean (Coyne-Honda; 19th). This threw him out of the lead lap. However, he fought back and still finished twelfth. (Result 1st Milwaukee race)
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Grosjean had just taken fresh tires and was therefore able to drive significantly faster than most of the field. In doing so, he drove into Schumacher’s right front tire. The German was furious on the radio and demanded a penalty against the dual citizen. Although he escaped penalty-free, he ultimately finished many laps down far behind Mick Schumacher.
Schumacher had already been irritated earlier because the team chose a questionable strategy. Before the interruption on Saturday, Schumacher was one of seven drivers who stopped under yellow and therefore had the opportunity to run longer than his opponents. However, five of the drivers who stopped with him on Saturday abandoned the tactic and stopped with everyone else shortly before halfway through the race.
RLL throws away strategic advantage
Schumacher initially stayed out longer but was then called to the pits by his team. This eliminated the strategic advantage and – even worse – he was caught by all other cars on the lead lap with an undercut. “Don’t try an overcut at the next stop, it doesn’t work,” Schumacher radioed back noticeably annoyed.
Photo gallery: Mick Schumacher’s results in the 2026 IndyCar season
Particularly annoying: David Malukas (Penske-Chevrolet; 2nd) was the only one of the seven mentioned drivers to consistently follow the strategy and nearly won the race. The team cost Mick Schumacher a possible top result by abandoning the strategy. Since Schumacher had nothing to lose anyway, the pit stop shortly after halfway through the race seems strange.
Already in the second race, which was held ahead of the continuation of the first race, he was repeatedly set back by undercuts from the competition during pit stops, hence the frustration on the radio. He was just directly behind his teammate Louis Foster (RLL-Honda; 11th) when Grosjean forced Schumacher into the spin.
Schumacher was then calmed down on the radio by his driver coach Ryan Briscoe. At the last stop under green, he was forced to stay out longer this time because otherwise he would have lost even more laps. This paid off: When Will Power (Andretti-Honda; DNF) slid into the wall, a caution was called that brought Schumacher back onto the lead lap.
At the restart, he was 14th and quickly gained two places, one against the reigning Indy 500 champion Felix Rosenqvist (MSR-Honda; 17th) and one against the living legend Scott Dixon (Ganassi-Honda; 18th). Then there was another caution because Caio Collet (Foyt-Chevrolet; DNF) ended his miserable weekend in the wall. Ultimately, Schumacher finished directly behind teammate Foster.
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O’Ward completes the double, Palou champion
The race was again won by Patricio “Pato” O’Ward (McLaren-Chevrolet; 1st), who thus became the first driver since Rick Mears in Atlanta 1981, when two races were regularly held on the same day, to win two IndyCar races in one day.
The decision came at the last restart when the then-leading David Malukas had a problem with the gear shift while accelerating. This gave Malukas his fourth second place of the season. “We just seem to be cursed,” he says – not the first time this year he was close to tears.
Rinus “VeeKay” van Kalmthout (Juncos-Chevrolet; 3rd) took third place shortly before the end, pushing Scott McLaughlin (Penske-Chevrolet; 4th) off the podium. Christian Rasmussen (ECR-Chevrolet; 5th) and Christian Lundgaard (McLaren-Chevrolet; 6th) formed a Danish duo behind them.
The biggest cheer, however, was for tenth place: Alex Palou (Ganassi-Honda; 10th) is the 2026 IndyCar champion. It was only a matter of time, but the Spaniard visibly drove with a controlled pace. It is his fifth IndyCar title in six years – a dominance that no one thought possible anymore in the era of spec cars. (Overall IndyCar standings 2026)
“I don’t know what to say. I owe it all to my team. It’s so incredible, I’m so proud of this team. So nice to have another championship. I’m already looking forward to next weekend at my favorite track with the beautiful livery in memory of Alex Zanardi. I tried to honor him as best as possible with the donuts.”
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The IndyCar finale will take place next weekend at Laguna Seca Raceway, which will bring the incredible final sprint of the IndyCar series with six races over five consecutive weekends to a fitting end.
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