Mick Schumacher after Indy 500 finish: “Had fun”

– He made it: Mick Schumacher completed all 200 laps at the 110th edition of the Indianapolis 500 and saw the checkered flag in 18th place, making him the best rookie. He pulled off a strong lapping maneuver that gave him a chance at a top-15 finish, but in the end, a gentle kiss with the wall sealed his fate in 18th place.

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“Yes, that was it, especially at the penultimate restart at the end,” Schumacher replies when asked if it was a fight for survival. At that penultimate restart, he gently touched the wall in turn 1. He was able to continue, but this triggered the last yellow phase, which led to a one-lap sprint to the finish.

The son of Formula 1 legend Michael Schumacher is annoyed about what appears to be not entirely correct communication from race control: “We were all told that the track was clear, but the outside lane was definitely not clean. That’s why I touched the wall.” (Race chronology)

“I’m glad they immediately called a yellow phase. Although you have to say that it was exactly these yellow phases that really hurt us in this race. I think we would have finished a bit further up – top 15, maybe even top 10.”

Schumacher started the race cautiously. To avoid an early retirement, he initially fell back and watched the action from behind. However, he never lost contact with the field. He successfully avoided early dramas like the crash involving Ryan Hunter-Reay and Katherine Legge.

Just as he began to attack a little, the field split into two strategies at the start of the last quarter of the race. For a long time, it was unclear which strategy would be better. Depending on the occurrence of yellow phases or a possible early stoppage, which was long considered due to the weather, it was impossible to say who was on the right or wrong strategy.

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Ultimately, Schumacher’s strategy was the less favorable one. His teammates at Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing (RLL), Graham Rahal and Louis Foster, chose the same strategy, only Takuma Sato went for the alternative strategy, with which Felix Rosenqvist also won the race. The Japanese driver finished tenth. Schumacher finished ahead of Rahal (20th) and Foster (21st).

Central to Schumacher was a spectacular lapping maneuver against Felix Rosenqvist and Patricio “Pato” O’Ward. They were saving fuel at that time. Schumacher was lapped and was therefore able to catch up to the field again during the penultimate yellow phase caused by Caio Collet’s accident. In the sprint, which was set for five laps, he took risks – and had his moment with the wall.

“It was about getting to the finish,” said the 27-year-old. “I had to learn so much about overtaking [on superspeedways] and everything. In my second oval race ever, I learned a lot. So, yes, I’m really proud of everyone at RLL and the whole team.”

Oval racing is still a very new discipline for him. “So I still have a lot to learn. I’m just happy about the progress and to take one step at a time,” he says. But the most important insight: “It was fun.”

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