Incredible Mick Schumacher lap time emerges ahead of latest IndyCar race

Ferrari driver Michael Schumacher claimed pole position for the 2002 United States Grand Prix in Indianapolis with a lap of 1:10.790.

Twenty-four years later, his son Mick Schumacher set a near-identical time in practice for this weekend’s IndyCar race at the same venue.

Mick Schumacher posts near-identical lap time to Michael Schumacher

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The younger Schumacher, who made 43 F1 starts for the Haas team across 2021/22, is currently competing in his first season in the US-based IndyCar Series.

The 27-year-old has had a tough start to his debut season having suffered a fractured wrist in an accident in the opening round in St Petersburg in March.

He recorded his best result of the season so far at the last race at Long Beach, where he came home 17th.

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The IndyCar calendar has moved to Indianapolis for this weekend’s road course race ahead of the Indy 500, widely regarded as the highlight of each season, later this month.

Schumacher was classified seventh in Friday’s practice session with a fastest lap of 1:10.7904 – a near-identical time to that set by his father back in 2002.

The incredible statistic was first spotted by the IndyCar reporter Eric Smith, with Schumacher’s Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing team commenting on social media: “This is the content we love.”

Despite the eerily similar lap time, the road course layout used by IndyCar is slightly different to that used by F1 during Indianapolis’s stint on the calendar between 2000 and 2007.

The infield section of the IndyCar lap is less technical and features a longer back straight.

While F1 used the oval banking for the final corner, the end of the lap in IndyCar sees drivers navigate a right-left section before returning to the main straight.

Reigning champion Alex Palou leads the IndyCar standings ahead of this weekend’s race, holding a 17-point lead over Kyle Kirkwood.

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