Motorsport classic: Late shock: Mick Schumacher 18th in Indy 500 debut

The 27-year-old started the dangerous motorsport classic 27th out of 33 starters and eventually improved to 18th position. The Swede Felix Rosenqvist from Meyer Shank Racing secured victory after a restart just five laps before the end.

Schumacher was the first German racing driver to compete on the famous oval circuit in 103 years. After Hollywood star Brendan Fraser flagged off the race in front of more than 300,000 fans with the green flag, the German initially fell behind. But the newcomer to the US IndyCar Series did not allow himself to be disturbed by several interruptions following spins and crashes.

Brazilian Collet crashes into the wall

Eight laps before the end, Caio Collet from AJ Foyt Racing also hit the wall with the right side of the car. His wrecked car caught fire and skidded into the grass. With the help of the stewards, the Brazilian was able to get out of his car and gave the all-clear with a thumbs up. The race was briefly interrupted. Schumacher, who works for the Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing team, then brought his car to the finish line unscathed.

At the driver presentation, the former Formula 1 driver was introduced as coming from “Switzerland”. After all, Schumacher was born in Switzerland. Then it got emotional as the pilots and fan base remembered Kyle Busch before the 500 miles. The two-time Nascar champion died just days earlier at the age of 41.