Schumacher, competing in the
Dallara Honda
#47 of
Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, achieved an average of
229.450 mph (about 370 km/h) over his four flying laps. A
time that places him 27th on the grid under particularly challenging conditions, with track temperatures much higher than during previous practice sessions, but just ahead of his leader Graham Rahal.
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After his attempt, the former
Formula 1 driver admitted that the weekend had been difficult:
“The whole weekend hasn’t been easy. We now need
to understand what happened in qualifying. The car
seemed pretty good, which might not necessarily be ideal
here. Maybe the car needs to be a bit more responsive on this
oval. We will analyze that and try to have a good
car for the race.”
Since his “Rookie Orientation
Program” completed in April, Schumacher has continued to learn the
subtleties of the formidable 2.5-mile Indianapolis oval, well
coached by former Penske driver Ryan Briscoe. Despite his
rearward position on the grid, the German fully appreciates the
historical importance of the event, considered one of the greatest
races in the world and certainly the most prestigious in the
United States.
Assaulting the legend
“I’m really looking forward to
experiencing the race day atmosphere,” says Schumi Jr.
“It’s one of the great monuments of motorsport. I’ve already
raced in Monaco and Le Mans, so Indianapolis is the last great
legendary race I had left to discover. I’m sure it will be
fantastic.”
With this participation,
Schumacher symbolically completes the famous unofficial “triple
crown” of major motorsport events: the
Monaco Grand Prix, the
24 Hours of Le Mans, and now the Indianapolis 500.
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The German driver is
not the only former F1 driver starting this year. Several ex-Grand Prix drivers will be on the
grid, including
Marcus Ericsson (Andretti), winner of the 2022 edition,
Romain Grosjean (Coyne),
Alexander Rossi (ECR), winner in 2016, as well as his
teammate
Takuma Sato (RLL), two-time winner of the event.
Rookie of the year?
Schumacher also faced
similar difficulties to several big names in IndyCar.
Will Power and the two-time defending winner
Josef Newgarden also struggled to find speed
in particularly tricky conditions.
The other rookies this
year were no luckier, with Caio Collet (Foyt) relegated
to the back of the grid following a technical infringement after having climbed into the top 12, while Dennis Hauger, Grosjean’s teammate at Dale Coyne, could do no better than 29th and will start
from the penultimate row of the 33-car grid,
as tradition dictates.
Now, all of Schumacher’s and
Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing’s attention turns to preparing for
the race itself. The goal will no longer be just pure speed
over one lap, but especially to build a stable and
competitive car over the long run to gradually move up through
traffic during the world’s most famous 500 miles and aim for
the honors of “rookie of the year,” a highly coveted trophy at the
Speedway.
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