Felix Rosenqvist, driver of the No. 60 Meyer Shank Racing car, won the 110th running of the Indianapolis 500 on Sunday, overtaking David Malukas on the final straight of the last lap in the closest finish in the race’s history. The Swede completed the 200 laps of the 2.5-mile (4.02-kilometer) oval and became the third driver from his country to win at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, after Kenny Bräck in 1999 and Marcus Ericsson in 2022.
A moving movie ending
Rosenqvist took the lead with 15 laps to go, capitalizing on his fuel advantage over Arrow McLaren’s Mexican driver Pato O’Ward to open up a gap over the rest of the field. The race seemed headed for a controlled finish, but Brazilian rookie Caio Collet crashed with eight laps remaining, bringing out the red flag and freezing the race.
During the restart, Rosenqvist took the lead and overtook Marcus Armstrong in a one-lap duel. On the final lap, Team Penske’s Malukas passed both Rosenqvist and O’Ward, but the Swede responded and crossed the finish line first, marking the 70th lead change of the day, an all-time record in the history of the race. The previous record of 68 lead changes was set in the 2013 edition, which was won by Tony Kanaan.
Results of the day
Scott McLaughlin completed the podium in third place. Arrow McLaren’s Pato O’Ward finished fourth, followed by Marcus Armstrong in fifth. Polesitter and reigning champion Alex Palou finished seventh after leading the opening laps in his No. 10 Chip Ganassi Racing Honda. Josef Newgarden, the two-time champion in 2023 and 2024, retired on lap 129 after hitting the wall just as a caution flag was raised.
Context and legacy
This victory gives Meyer Shank Racing its second win in the Indy 500, and it comes in a race that kept the Brickyard on edge from the first lap, when Palou and Alexander Rossi engaged in a duel at the front that lasted for the first fourteen laps.
For Rosenqvist, 34, the victory marks the end of a long chapter. The Swede had amassed six pole positions and seven podium finishes in IndyCar prior to Sunday, with his only previous win coming at Road America in 2020. His best previous Indy 500 result was a fifth-place finish last year, when Palou took the Borg-Warner Trophy.
Drinking milk in the brickyard
The podium ceremony included the traditional milk celebration, a custom that has distinguished this race since 1911. Colombian Juan Pablo Montoya has already tasted the milk twice. The Latin American driver won twice at the Brickyard, in 2000 and 2015, with contrasting stories: he dominated the first race, leading 167 of the 200 laps, and then rallied from last place in the second after a collision on the opening lap.
Although hopes of victory for this year’s race were briefly raised for Mexican driver Pato O’Ward, Montoya remains the only Latin American with more than one win at Indianapolis.