Felix Rosenqvist has produced one of the most dramatic finishes in Indianapolis 500 history, picking off David Malukas on the final lap to win the 110th running of the Indy 500 by just 0.0233 of a second — the smallest margin ever recorded at the Brickyard.
The Meyer Shank Racing driver, who had qualified on pole and led the field early before falling back during the closing stints, restarted third for the green-white-checkered shootout. He swept Marcus Armstrong and then Malukas on the final lap to deliver the team its second Borg-Warner Trophy and become the third Swedish driver to win the race, joining Kenny Brack and Marcus Ericsson.
"It was the coolest, coolest thing that I've ever done in a race car," Rosenqvist said in his post-race interview with WTHR. "It was just such a gnarly racing — like wheel to wheel — plus fair, so great. I have great respect for the other drivers, David, Pato and Marcus. I know they're probably very bummed right now, but you can't create a great spectacle without great drivers like that."
Rosenqvist became a father just 20 days before the race when he and his wife welcomed their daughter, Stella. He said the perspective shift carried into the cockpit.
"It is the best month of my life by far. I think it's kind of changed my approach to it. I've been way more calm and collected and confident as well. Becoming a dad definitely helped me a lot, but that race was just incredible."
The Swede also explained the strategy that briefly looked lost when he was shuffled outside the top three with under 10 laps to run.
"I thought I had some milk on it when I felt the car out the first couple of stints. We kind of had a perfect strategy, and then everything got a little flipped around there at the end. In a way it kind of worked out as it was meant to be. I fell down to third, then I had a really good restart and I just stayed flat out. One in a million, but it worked out."
Malukas, who had led on the white-flag lap aboard the AJ Foyt Racing Chevrolet, watched the win slip away in the run to the line. The American admitted to reporters in Gasoline Alley that the race "was ours to win" as his team came to terms with the second-place finish that, on the timing screens, registered as the closest in IMS history.
Scott McLaughlin completed the podium for Team Penske, with Pato O'Ward — who had switched to the No. 5 Arrow McLaren backup car after his crash on Carb Day — recovering to fourth. Marcus Armstrong rounded out the top five for Meyer Shank Racing, completing a brilliant day for the Mike Shank/Jim Meyer outfit.
For Rosenqvist, the victory ends years of frustration after near-misses with Chip Ganassi Racing and Arrow McLaren, and rewards a Meyer Shank squad that won Indy in 2021 with Helio Castroneves and has been chasing a second crown ever since.
"My team, they're like a family. This is the best team I've ever been in. We're tired of being called the underdog or the small team. Everything worked out and it's such a testament to the strength of a team — and to my fans in Sweden and all the fans here. They really got behind me during the month, even through qualifying. The fans make this place magic."
The Indy 500 now hands the IndyCar Series a fortnight off before the Detroit Grand Prix on the streets of downtown, where championship leader Alex Palou will look to rebuild after losing pole-winner status to Rosenqvist a week earlier and finishing well down the order on Sunday.
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