Mick Schumacher will start the 110th Indianapolis 500 from the outside of Row 9 after posting a four-lap qualifying run of 229.450 mph on the 2.5-mile Indianapolis Motor Speedway oval.
The run — four laps at an average speed of 229.450 mph — placed Schumacher to start deep in the field for the 200-lap race. Officials listed him on the grid outside Row 9 following qualifying at the Speedway.
The timing is immediate: the 110th running of the Indianapolis 500 is scheduled for Sunday, May 24, 2026, with the green flag for the 200-lap race set to drop at 12:45 p.m. ET.
Schumacher is identified as an Indianapolis 500 rookie and drives for Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing. The combination of his four-lap speed and his assigned starting spot frames the immediate challenge he faces when the field rolls to the green on Sunday.
Television coverage will be carried by Fox, with Will Buxton serving as the play-by-play voice and James Hinchcliffe and Townsend Bell as analysts. Radio listeners can follow IndyCar Nation on SiriusXM Channel 218, IndyCar Live and the IndyCar Radio Network.
The contrast at the center of the story is simple and stark: Schumacher’s four-lap average of 229.450 mph on the 2.5-mile oval is a headline number, yet it left him starting from the outside of Row 9. Those two facts — speed and grid position — sit side by side ahead of Sunday’s race.
The Indianapolis 500 itself is a 200-lap test around the 2.5-mile oval at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The race’s long history and the compressed nature of qualifying mean a single four-lap run can produce a wide range of outcomes on the starting grid; in Schumacher’s case the result is a long way back from the front.
For viewers who plan to tune in, Fox’s broadcast team will guide the television coverage beginning at race time, and radio listeners can follow the action through IndyCar Nation on SiriusXM Channel 218, IndyCar Live and the IndyCar Radio Network.
When the green flag falls at 12:45 p.m. ET on Sunday, May 24, 2026, Mick Schumacher will begin the 200-lap race from the outside of Row 9, carrying the momentum of a 229.450 mph qualifying average and the immediate task of moving forward from a deep starting position.
