– The accident in the opening lap of the IndyCar season opener in St. Petersburg has had bigger consequences for Mick Schumacher than initially thought: Since he was involved in the collision triggered by Sting Ray Robb in turn 4, he has been driving with pain in his left wrist. Due to the tight schedule, he wants to have surgery no earlier than after the season.
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“Unfortunately, a piece of my wrist broke off in St. Pete after the accident, which I am still struggling with. That means, basically, I get out of the car and have pain, which is of course suboptimal,” says the son of Formula 1 legend Michael Schumacher in an interview with Sky.
“And that will likely be an operation at the end of the year. Simply to put everything back together. But yes, it is definitely exhausting and accordingly, I have to do a bit more with my right hand at the moment.”
Hand injuries an old IndyCar issue
Hand and wrist injuries are a recurring issue in the IndyCar series. Since the cars have no power steering, the force from an impact with an obstacle is transferred directly to the hands.
The kickback effect is particularly feared, when the wheels are suddenly jerked in another direction by an impact, which is immediately transmitted to the steering wheel. In other series like Formula 1, the forces are less intense due to power steering, although hand injuries, such as Daniel Ricciardo’s in 2023, do occur. However, much less frequently.
For example, in the IndyCar series, Kyle Kirkwood injured his hand in a crash in Detroit in 2022. J.R. Hildebrand suffered bone fractures in a collision in Long Beach in 2017. Mick Schumacher’s current driver coach Ryan Briscoe also broke his wrist in an accident in 2013 and was never able to return to his previous successes afterwards.
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Positive feedback despite results to improve
Schumacher’s start in the US series has been tough results-wise: Although he achieved an early highlight with fourth place in Phoenix, the race results with one retirement and positions 18, 22, 24, and 17 still have room for improvement. (Pace analysis of the first four races) However, he does not put pressure on himself and focuses on internal perception:
“Honestly, I haven’t looked at any messages. I think that’s probably helpful because I am so far away from everything here that I don’t really have to listen to that. In the paddock, what we have done so far was received relatively well – which I initially found a bit strange.”
Schumacher adds: “I thought I would have to protect myself from a possible shitstorm, but that was not the case at all. On the contrary, people were rather happy about how I approach things. Personally, I have learned more from that than anything else. It’s okay to make mistakes and learn from them when things don’t go well. You have to move in the right direction to do better. The feeling of really having a team behind you that pushes you is very special and pleasant.”
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The highlight of the season is the Indianapolis 500 in May. As an overture, there is a classic Grand Prix on the infield course of the “Brickyard,” where Schumacher already tested last October.
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