Mick Schumacher - Indianapolis 500 Open at IMS - Image Credits - Penske Entertainment: Matt Fraver
Mick Schumacher - Indianapolis 500 Open at IMS - Image Credits - Penske Entertainment: Matt Fraver
May 9, 2026, 11:45 AM CUT
24 years apart, Mick Schumacher recreates dad Michael’s Indy magic
In an uncanny reoccurence, Mick Schumacher matched his father, Michael Schumacher's 24-year-old F1 lap time during an IndyCar practice session on Friday. That too, in his first race weekend at the fabled Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course as an IndyCar driver.
For the 27-year-old German, the IMS road course is the track he first tested an Indy car at for Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing in October last year. That test served as the basis on which RLL signed him for the 2026 IndyCar season.
On Friday, during Practice 2 of the Sonsio Grand Prix weekend, Mick Schumacher went seventh-quickest with a lap time of 1:10.7904 around the 2.439-mile circuit. Surprisingly, that was the exact pole lap time by Michael Schumacher for F1's 2002 US GP, down to the thousandth: 1:10.790.
However, it is important to note that the track layout after 24 years is a bit different. The junior Schumacher matched the lap time on a slightly longer track than what his seven-time F1 champion did in Ferrari's F2002.
However, the bigger story associated with the 2002 US GP was Michael Schumacher's controversial last-lap decision. On the main straight, he slowed down to let teammate Rubens Barrichello pass him for the win.
That decision was seemingly to compensate Barrichello for a lost win at that year's Austrian GP, where Ferrari imposed team orders for Schumacher to win. Notably, that year, Schumacher finished on the podium in all 17 F1 races, and 11 of those were wins.
Though his son, Mick Schumacher couldn't succeed in F1 and left after a two-year stint with Haas (2022-23), he found a new home in IndyCar this year.
Why Mick Schumacher doesn't feel pressurized by his father's achievements
Mick Schumacher's foray into F1 wasn't easy. The return of "MSC" on the timesheets was nice nostalgia for F1 fans, but his lap times weren't. After a bitter exit from Haas, he chose endurance racing in WEC as his next journey.
However, Schumacher yearned for a return to open-wheel racing and IndyCar came as a boon. The first test itself brought a renewed enthusiasm to him and his family, and in a recent conversation with The Drive during the Long Beach GP weekend, the RLL driver explained why he feels no pressure to live up to his last name.
"No, not at all. I’m very proud of what my dad achieved, and he’s the best for good reason," said Mick Schumacher. "He put some hard effort out there working countless nights to achieve what he did, and making sure that the car was in the best position possible."
"I’m just aiming to look at what he did and follow it, and make sure that what I do works for me as well. There’s never been any pressure to do exactly what he did or to try to beat him or whatever," he added.
On paper, this weekend at the IMS road course should be Schumacher's best so far. RLL cars have been a beast at the track in the last few years, with Graham Rahal starting on the front row last year.
