IndyCar rookie Mick Schumacher successfully completed his first laps on the oval track at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Tuesday. On the first of two days of official pre-race testing for the 110th Indianapolis 500 (May 24), Schumacher, as one of the rookies in the field, first had to complete the mandatory Rookie Orientation Program (ROP). He passed it on his first try.
removed Schumacher first got to know the famous 2.5-mile oval largely without traffic and passed the three-stage rookie program on his first try. In the final session of the day, which was open to all registered IndyCar drivers, Schumacher then gained his first experience driving in a pack on the Indianapolis oval. What is his verdict after the first day?
Day 1 reflections
“On the oval, yeah. It was interesting,” said Schumacher. “You know, obviously going through our RP at the beginning, I think it was great to just get to know the track, get to know the feelings that you have driving out there. And, you know, overall just inching my way towards being flat and then trimming and trimming. And essentially then, we spent a lot of time in the box just to try and run through some setup differences that we wanted to do and change. So, yeah, now we’ve got a lot of ties for tomorrow, hopefully.
When asked how much he enjoyed his first day on the most famous of all ovals, the IndyCar and Indy 500 rookie from Germany replied: “It was certainly interesting. But I also have to say that a short oval impresses me even more.”
Schumacher is referring primarily to the one-mile oval in Phoenix, where he sensationally secured fourth place on the grid in his very first oval qualifying session in early March. “When I drove through turns 3 and 4 for the first time in Phoenix and felt how I could really push hard there, that was very impressive. Here [in Indianapolis], on the other hand, you drive through the corners much more gently, just as cleanly as possible,” said Schumacher.
Did Schumacher surprise anyone on the first of two days of the official Indy 500 pre-race test? “No, not really,” he said, explaining: “Everything was pretty much as I expected it would be. So I thought that means that we had a good preparation.”
Comparing it to Phoenix, he said:” I thought it was obviously interesting to drive, though I would say that a short oval personally was a lot more impressive. Just because in Phoenix when I drove and send up that new turn, well, Turn 3 and 4, for the first time, and felt like I could nearly go a proper hard entry, that was pretty impressive. Here you’re kind of driving in a way that you’re always just trying and nurturing it through the corner, like be as clean as possible and stuff.”
As part of the three-stage rookie program, in which each of the three stages has a precisely prescribed speed range that drivers must stay within to advance to the next stage, Schumacher was briefly faster than required—and thus also faster than allowed.
“When I tried – well, actually when I went a bit quicker, people were a bit upset,” noted Schumacher. “So, yeah, essentially I feel like this is not a totally new experience. I mean we had Phoenix.
“I did the test in St. Louis. So I feel like I had a good amount of knowledge of ovals. And obviously Homestead I think is probably the closest that it comes to here in some ways. So I thought it was very straightforward, very nice for me to get going and get comfortable quickly.”
Being aware when something doesn’t feel right
Schumacher had another experience on Tuesday as part of the three-stage rookie program: “It felt a little light on the rear specifically. And rightfully so, we came in and saw that there was an issue on the car. So we got that fixed and then went out again.”
At that moment, which occurred during the second of the three phases of the ROP, Schumacher took to heart the tips provided to him by, among others, his driver coach Ryan Briscoe. “So essentially, I think one of those important key messages that I’ve been told since starting on an oval has always been whenever something doesn’t feel right, come in and we’ll fix it. And so for me in that instant it just didn’t feel quite exactly the way it should have,” said the IndyCar rookie driving for Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing.
But at that moment, Schumacher relied not only on advice but also on his own instincts, which he honed in racing series such as Formula 3, Formula 2, Formula 1, and the WEC: “I think personally I’ve always been somebody who’s very easy to pick up on things in the car. I don’t blindly just drive. I try and actually listen to what the car is telling me and what feelings I get.
“So basically trust my butt is what we say. And that’s been the case in Homestead. That’s been the case in Phoenix and also in St. Louis. And I think even more so important that we do it here just because speeds are so much faster, so much greater. So whether it was happening today, whether it’s going to happen tomorrow or down the line this month or next month, it doesn’t really change anything. It’s always important to have these feelings and listen to them whenever they do end up coming towards you.
One experience Schumacher inevitably hasn’t been able to gain yet on his first test day at the Indianapolis Superspeedway is laps with the increased boost pressure for qualifying. He won’t have this extra power from his Honda engine at his disposal until “Fast Friday” (May 15), the final practice day before the Indy 500 qualifying.
“Driving with really flat wings or with the engine power for qualifying—those are things I don’t know yet and that I still have to experience, feel, and understand,” added Schumacher, emphasizing: “So far, things have been going extremely smoothly for me. I’m currently building up my database so I’ll be prepared for what’s still to come.”
Translated from German
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