– Mick Schumacher (RLL-Honda; 18th) reached the finish line in his oval debut. More could not really be asked for in advance, but of course the question arises as to what would have been possible had the impact wrench on the front right not jammed during the first pit stop. As a result, Schumacher spent the rest of the race off the lead lap. (Result)
Read more Pit stop botched! Mick Schumacher loses lead lap in Phoenix
An opportunity to regain the lost lap did not arise in the further course of the race. Although there was a third yellow phase on lap 142 of 250, not all vehicles came in for a pit stop. As a result, Schumacher, who had been in shortly before, did not receive a “wave-by” and remained off the lead lap.
The same applied to the fourth caution on lap 208, when all vehicles had already completed their last regular stop. Again, Schumacher could not benefit because only some of the vehicles from the lead lap stopped.
As the best vehicle off the lead lap, he also had no one to fight directly. So he remained stuck in 18th position, but gained valuable experience on the oval, as he was able to drive in traffic even when laps down. Later he lost a second lap because he had a different pit strategy.
Gigantic Rasmussen show, but Newgarden wins
Man of the day was Christian Rasmussen (Carpenter-Chevrolet; 14th). The Dane, who already amazed the IndyCar scene with crazy overtaking maneuvers during his debut victory in Milwaukee last year, continued seamlessly in Phoenix.
Starting from 18th place, Rasmussen stopped during the very first yellow phase, which was imposed after only ten laps for the spectacular spin without impact by Dennis Hauger (Coyne-Honda; 15th).
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After that, he drove through the field on fresh tires and again thrilled with spectacular overtaking maneuvers. Even when the tire ages leveled out after the first regular stop, Rasmussen was unstoppable. Time and again his car broke loose in the turbulent air of the cars in front, but Rasmussen caught it every time – a spectacular show.
Nevertheless, it was not enough for the victory. His race began to develop in the wrong direction when three drivers, Kyle Kirkwood (Andretti-Honda; 2nd), Will Power (Andretti-Honda; 16th), and Scott Dixon (Ganassi-Honda; 7th), stayed out during the penultimate caution, whom Rasmussen had to overtake again.
When he had caught up with Power, who had started from the very back after his accident in qualifying, a collision occurred. Apparently, Power’s spotter had not been paying attention. Miraculously, Rasmussen’s car survived the collision, while Power suffered a puncture.
Although Rasmussen defended the lead almost until the finish, the damage became noticeable in the final phase. He fell back like a stone in the last laps. Kirkwood was the first beneficiary but was intercepted six laps before the end by Josef Newgarden (Penske-Chevrolet; 1st). Penske’s strategy didn’t quite fit the yellow phases, which is why Newgarden really had to fight his way through.
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He ultimately succeeded and Newgarden won ahead of Kirkwood and pole-sitter David Malukas (Penske-Chevrolet; 3rd). The next race of the IndyCar series will take place next weekend on the new street circuit in Arlington, Texas, which ends the “triple-header” at the start of the season.
