Felix Rosenqvist won the 110th Indianapolis 500 on Sunday in what became the closest finish in the race’s history after a long afternoon filled with crashes, weather delays, and late-race chaos at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Rosenqvist beat David Malukas to the finish line by just 0.0223 seconds after passing him in the final stretch to the Yard of Bricks. The previous closest finish came in 1992 when Al Unser Jr. edged Scott Goodyear by .043 seconds.
The race ended with a one-lap sprint after a late red flag caused by rookie Caio Collet crashing hard into the wall in Turn 2. Collet’s car caught fire after impact. IndyCar initially kept the race under caution before officials stopped it completely to create a green-flag finish.
As soon as the restart happened, another caution came out after rookie Mick Schumacher brushed the wall. That set up one final lap with Rosenqvist chasing Malukas for the lead.
For a moment it looked like Malukas had done enough. Rosenqvist stayed close through the final corners and pulled alongside him before slipping ahead by just a few feet at the line.
The win was Rosenqvist’s first Indianapolis 500 victory and only the second IndyCar win for Meyer Shank Racing. He led during several important stretches late in the race while also saving fuel, which kept him in contention during the final runs.
“I don’t even know what to say,” Rosenqvist said after the race. “It’s the coolest way you can win the Indy 500.”
Malukas finished second and was emotional during the FOX broadcast afterward. He wiped away tears while talking about how close he came.
“I don’t know what else we could have done,” he said.
Scott McLaughlin finished third, followed by Pato O’Ward and Marcus Armstrong to round out the top five.
The race itself was messy at times. Rain moved into the area midway through the event and caused two separate stoppages. Officials first red-flagged the race on Lap 105 because of rain near the track. Drivers sat on pit lane for around 15 minutes before engines were restarted.
Only a few laps after racing resumed, another caution came out for track conditions.
There were also several crashes throughout the day.
Early in the race, Ryan Hunter-Reay spun in Turn 2 and collected Katherine Legge, ending her attempt to complete both the Indy 500 and NASCAR’s Coca-Cola 600 on the same day. Both drivers were checked and cleared by the medical team.
Ed Carpenter later crashed after contact with Takuma Sato during a restart. Carpenter called it a “chaotic restart” afterward.
Will Power spun exiting pit lane after leaking fluid onto the track. Alexander Rossi’s day ended in the pits when his car caught fire during a stop. Josef Newgarden, who had moved from 23rd into contention, crashed on Lap 126 after hitting the rumble strip in Turn 4.
The race featured 70 lead changes, breaking the previous Indianapolis 500 record of 68 set in 2013.
At the front, Alex Palou and Scott Dixon spent much of the race trading the lead while teams carefully watched fuel strategy and incoming weather. Conor Daly also briefly excited the crowd after moving into contention during the later laps. He eventually finished 12th.
Unofficially, Rosenqvist finished ahead of Malukas, McLaughlin, O’Ward, Armstrong, Rinus VeeKay, Palou, Santino Ferrucci, Romain Grosjean, and Takuma Sato in the top 10.Felix Rosenqvist Wins Closest Indianapolis 500 in Race History
This image is the property of The New Dispatch LLC and is not licenseable for external use without explicit written permission.
