Felix Rosenqvist crossed the finish line 0.0233 seconds ahead of David Malukas to win the 110th Indianapolis 500, the closest margin in the race’s history and Meyer Shank Racing’s second Honda-powered victory at the Brickyard.
The previous record was 0.043 seconds when Al Unser Jr. held off Scott Goodyear in 1992. Rosenqvist’s No. 60 Honda edged Malukas’ No. 12 Chevrolet in a one-lap shootout that capped a race with 70 lead changes, itself an all-time Indianapolis 500 record surpassing the 68 from Tony Kanaan’s 2013 win.
The Swedish driver became a father 16 days before the race when his daughter Stella was born. He found himself off-sequence on pit strategy for much of the afternoon but used Honda’s fuel mileage advantage to position himself for the final restart with seven laps remaining. A red flag for Caio Collet’s fiery crash bunched the field, and with 3½ laps left Mick Schumacher brushed the wall in Turn 2 to bring out the yellow flag that set up the green-white-checkered finish.
Rosenqvist’s teammate Marcus Armstrong finished fifth in the No. 66 Acura-sponsored Honda. The finish marks Acura’s first appearance at the Indianapolis 500 as the brand celebrates its 40th anniversary. Mike Shank, the team owner, said Armstrong and Rosenqvist ran the same strategy and that the race appeared secured with seven laps to go before the late cautions reshuffled the deck. Rosenqvist notched his second NTT IndyCar Series victory and Honda’s 17th at Indianapolis, the automaker’s first since Meyer Shank Racing’s 2021 win with Helio Castroneves.
Alex Palou, the reigning and four-time series champion, started from pole position and led a race-high 59 laps but came home seventh. The Chip Ganassi Racing driver extended his championship lead to 42 points over second place despite failing to go back-to-back at the 500. Romain Grosjean finished ninth for Dale Coyne Racing, the team’s best Indianapolis 500 result since 2020, and two-time winner Takuma Sato took tenth for Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, giving Honda four teams in the top ten.
The finish was chaotic enough that HRC US president David Salters opened his post-race remarks with a joke about Meyer Shank Racing not sucking. Rosenqvist said he could not wait to rewatch the final lap and called it the craziest racing he had ever experienced. Shank credited Armstrong for learning quickly in the race and said Rosenqvist deserved the win after three years of ups and downs with the team. The driver is now closing in on Palou in the championship standings.
Castroneves, who gave Meyer Shank Racing its first Indy 500 win in 2021, retired with a mechanical issue. Will Power also failed to finish. The series heads to the streets of Detroit for the Grand Prix on May 31.
Source: Honda. Images courtesy of Honda.
