Rosenqvist beats – Felix Rosenqvist grabbed the lead in the final moments and beat David Malukas by just 0.0233 seconds to win the closest Indianapolis 500 in history, turning a tense late restart duel into his second IndyCar victory from 120 starts.
INDIANAPOLIS — Felix Rosenqvist swung to the outside of David Malukas, found a way past the Team Penske driver in the final stretch, and claimed the closest Indianapolis 500 in history on Sunday.
The margin was razor-thin: 0.0233 seconds. Rosenqvist’s decisive move came in the last 50 feet as he slipped behind teammate Marcus Armstrong and then used enough power to pull away from Armstrong in a wheel-to-wheel battle down the back straightaway and through the fourth and final turn.
Malukas had looked set to win when he passed race leader Marcus Armstrong on the final restart with one lap remaining. Armstrong and Rosenqvist had been battling together for position just ahead, with Meyer Shank Racing teammates trading momentum while Rosenqvist kept pressure high.
The finish rewrote the record book for tightness. The closest previous Indy 500 result came in 1992, when Al Unser Jr. beat Scott Goodyear across the yard of bricks by 0.043 seconds.
For Rosenqvist, it was his second career win in 120 IndyCar races. The victory also arrived in a month that has already changed his life off the track. coming after the recent birth of his first child. He is now the third Swedish driver to win Indianapolis 500, joining Kenny Brack and Marcus Ericsson.
The race itself kept flaring up at key moments. A red flag paused the action with seven laps to go after Indy 500 rookie Caio Collet crashed in a scary incident that left flames billowing out of the side of his car as it skidded to a stop in the grass. Racing resumed after a 10-minute delay. and Armstrong and Malukas surged past the top two cars — Rosenqvist and Pato O’Ward.
With 3 1/2 laps left, the yellow flag came out again, this time after Mick Schumacher, the son of seven-time world champion Michael Schumacher, brushed the wall in Turn 2.
On Lap 200, the final restart, Malukas sling-shotted past Armstrong for the lead and began to pull away from the two Meyer Shank Racing drivers. Rosenqvist kept hunting, and when the opportunity finally arrived, he tucked into position and executed the pass that mattered most.
Afterward, Malukas said he couldn’t think of what else he could have done to hang on to the lead.
Rosenqvist celebrated by sipping milk, then dumping it over his head, turning the tension of the final laps into something unmistakably joyous. In pit lane, Malukas was consoled by his father.
Scott McLaughlin of New Zealand finished third. O’Ward, Rosenqvist’s best friend in racing, placed fourth. O’Ward has had two runner-up finishes and a third place in the past four years.
The race ends with the same story it started: no room to relax, and no margin for error — because in the end, 0.0233 seconds was all that separated winning from watching it slip away.
Indy 500 Felix Rosenqvist David Malukas Marcus Armstrong Scott McLaughlin Pato O'Ward Meyer Shank Racing Team Penske Mick Schumacher Caio Collet closest Indy 500 finish
0.0233 seconds?? That’s basically nothing. How is that even real.
I love Indy 500 but I’m confused… did someone crash and cause the red flag or did they just restart for fun? Also that margin is insane, like a blink.
So Rosenqvist “slipped behind teammate Marcus Armstrong” then used power? Sounds like cheating with team push lol. And Malukas passed on the final restart like I thought that meant he would win automatically. Idk man racing is always rigged somehow.
Congrats to him I guess, but the part about the baby made it feel like it was more important than the race? Like okay cool, Swedish drivers or whatever. The red flag with flames is the only thing I actually understood from the whole thing.