After his disappointing IndyCar debut in the USA, Mick Schumacher celebrated his first small sense of success.
The former Formula 1 and WEC driver surprised employer Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing with fourth place in qualifying for the second race of the season in Phoenix. He therefore has a good chance of a top placing in the race on Saturday (9:00 p.m. CET).
“That was over quickly,” said Schumacher in a good mood after his qualifying on the oval track, “we knew what we had to do and managed good laps.”
On an oval, the starting position is determined by the average speed of two qualifying laps. Schumacher took to the track first and put in a strong lead at 173.667 miles per hour (279.49 km/h) in his Honda.
250 laps will be completed on Saturday. “I’m happy,” said Schumacher: “With the traffic it will be a completely different situation, it will be tough.”
Bitter disappointment after debut in the USA
For the 26-year-old, his debut on the street circuit in St. Petersburg had been extremely disappointing. He was eliminated from the race on lap one after just four corners due to a rear-end accident through no fault of his own. Shortly after the start, Schumacher crashed into the car of the American Santino Ferrucci after he was forced off in a curve.
Video: Schumacher experiences debacle at the start
“I’m looking forward, not back, and will try to understand what we could have done better,” said Mick Schumacher afterwards: “But hey, we still have 17 more races. That was just the first, just the start of it. And I’m really looking forward to the rest of the season.”
Mick Schumacher clearly: “That was frustrating”
“It was frustrating today,” the son of Formula 1 record world champion Michael Schumacher later wrote on Instagram, but: “We couldn’t have done anything differently. That’s how racing is sometimes. There’s a lot to learn and do. It’ll continue next week!”
With a weak qualifying and starting from 21st place (out of 25), he put himself in a “particularly difficult position”.
Mick Schumacher is the first IndyCar driver from Germany in 21 years. Previously, the last German in the series was Timo Glock in 2005. If Schumacher were to qualify for the Indianapolis 500 (May 24th) in the next few weeks, the 26-year-old would be the first German participant in the legendary race in more than 100 years.
