INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Felix Rosenqvist swung to the outside of David Malukas, then found a way past the Team Penske driver to win the closest Indianapolis 500 in history by a margin of 0.0233 seconds on Sunday.
Malukas looked like he was in position to win when he passed race leader Marcus Armstrong off the final restart with one lap to go while Meyer Shank Racing teammates Rosenqvist and Armstrong battled wheel to wheel down the back straightaway and through the fourth and final turn.
But Rosenqvist had just enough power to pull away from Armstrong and snake behind Malukas before making the decisive outside pass in the final 50 feet.
The closest previous finish came in 1992 when Al Unser Jr. beat Scott Goodyear across the yard of bricks by 0.043 seconds.
“The last five years I've been in the front and I've had a good enough car to probably win it, but today there was just something more,” said Rosenqvist, who had been fast all month. “It was an absolute rocket this month and year; it was still there in the race.”
It was Rosenqvist's second career win in 120 IndyCar races and comes after the recent birth of his first child. His last win was on July 12, 2020, at Road America, making this his first win on an oval. Rosenqvist joins Kenny Brack and Marcus Ericsson as the only Swedes to win the race.
The wild finish began with a red flag that came out with seven laps to go because of a scary crash involving Indy 500 rookie Caio Collet. Flames billowed out of the side of his car as it skidded to a stop in the grass.
When racing resumed after a 10-minute delay, Armstrong and Malukas sped past the top two cars — Rosenqvist and Pato O’Ward. But with 3 1/2 laps left, the yellow flag came out again when Mick Schumacher, the son of seven-time world champion Michael Schumacher, brushed the wall in Turn 2.
On the final restart, Lap 200, Malukas sling-shotted his way past Armstrong for the lead and started pulling away from the two Meyer Shank Racing drivers. But Rosenqvist finally caught the Team Penske driver to win the biggest race of his career in the same month he became a father.
Malukas said he couldn't think of what else he could have done to hang on to the lead.
“I was given two options: either I lift or I crash with Felix,” said Armstrong, who finished fifth. “I chose to lift. I don't know if I could have done anything different.”
As Rosenqvist celebrated by sipping milk, then dumping it over his head, Malukas, a 24-year-old American, was consoled by his father in pit lane.
Malukas' teammate Scott McLaughlin was third, and Rosenqvist's best friend in racing, O'Ward, was fourth. O'Ward had two runner-up finishes and a third place in the past four years.
“I just don't know what else we could have done," Malukas said. “We were driving 150% that whole time. We had the fastest car out there, loved that whole race. It was ours to win and I knew that, so I just never pushed like that my whole life.”
It was a strange day on the 2.5-mile Brickyard.
There was a 12-minute rain delay near the midway point of the race and the threat of more rain the rest of the afternoon changed strategies throughout the day. It looked like Rosenqvist and O’Ward had the advantage over the final 25 laps because of pit strategy.
But Malukas and McLaughlin fought their way back into contention as other drivers such as defending Indy champion and pole winner Alex Palou of Chip Ganassi Racing faded to seventh.
Palou led the most laps (59), had the most on-track passes (60) and retained the points lead. Malukas, however, passed Kyle Kirkwood for second in the standings. The Chicago native trails the four-time series champion and 2025 Indy winner by 40 points.
The rain didn’t return until Rosenqvist was celebrating.
Double trouble
Katherine Legge’s attempt to become the first woman to complete “The Double” ended after just 17 laps when she couldn’t avoid Ryan Hunter-Reay’s spinning car. Legge’s car skidded down the track and into the inside wall in Turn 2.
The English driver was checked at the track’s infield medical care center and was released. She was still planning to travel to Charlotte, North Carolia, for Sunday night’s Coca-Cola 600. She’s scheduled to start 37th.
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