“Very unfortunate”: Mick Schumacher on his debut misfortune

After his completely botched debut in the IndyCar series, Mick Schumacher wants to quickly forget his bad luck with the accident.

March 02, 2026

From: dpa/det

“I’m looking forward, not back, and I’ll try to understand what we could have done better,” said the 26-year-old after his first-lap exit from the race in St. Petersburg, Florida. The former Formula 1 driver was forced to retire after a rear-end collision through no fault of his own.

“Our goal was simply to finish the race, to complete as many laps as possible. We got far fewer points, which is very unfortunate,” summarized the son of Formula 1 record world champion Michael Schumacher in a statement released by his racing team, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing. Schumacher had collided with the car of American Santino Ferrucci shortly after the start, after Ferrucci had been forced wide in a corner.

Schumacher made his debut. © APA / DAVID JENSEN

“That’s racing,” said Schumacher. He had hoped to gain enough experience with his team in the race to dispel any doubts before the remaining races of the season. “But hey, we still have 17 more races. This was just the first, just the start. And I’m really looking forward to the rest of the season,” Schumacher added.

Already problems in the qualification

The German driver is attempting a fresh start in the IndyCar series this year, after a long and ultimately unsuccessful bid for a new Formula 1 contract. However, he had limited testing opportunities with his new car beforehand. This likely contributed to Schumacher's struggles in qualifying for the race in St. Petersburg, where he failed to secure a starting position higher than 21st.

Starting from the eleventh row, Schumacher was unable to avoid damage in the battles for position during the opening kilometers. "We actually had a pretty good car and could have worked our way up the field," Schumacher asserted.

Even in his two Formula 1 seasons in 2021 and 2022, Schumacher suffered several serious accidents. The US team Haas eventually parted ways with him. After a year as a reserve driver for Mercedes, Schumacher spent two years racing for Alpine in the World Endurance Championship, where he also participated in the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

Now he hopes for new successes in the IndyCar series. Schumacher will have his next opportunity this weekend at Phoenix Raceway in Arizona.

Keywords Motorsport Mick Schumacher