Rosenqvist Edges Malukas in Closest Finish in History

Felix Rosenqvist becomes the third Swede since 1999 to win the Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge on May 24, 2026 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway (Photo: Anthony Sylvia | The Podium Finish).

INDIANAPOLIS – As if Felix Rosenqvist’s month of May couldn’t have gotten any sweeter after the birth of him and his wife’s first child. Stella, on May 4, he caps it off with the most thrilling finish in the 110-year history of the Indianapolis 500.

Rosenqvist exited Turn 4 in his No. 60 SiriusXM Meyer Shank Racing Honda one car length behind David Malukas in the No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet. With the twin-checkered flags in hand and waving, Rosenqvist carried momentum from the draft and sliced to the outside of Malukas and nosed passed to capture MSR’s second Indy 500 victory by 0.0233 of a second making it the closest finish in history.

“Unreal; I still don’t believe it,” said Rosenqvist. “It kind of worked out the right way when I got back to third, and then I just had to flat-out lap on the high line, and it stuck. It was just the coolest way you can finish and win an Indy 500.”

On a day that saw an unfavorable rain forecast, that didn’t hold back the sold-out crowd of over 350,000 fans for the second year in a row from experiencing the spectacle, fireworks, pageantry, multi fighter jet flyovers, military blackhawk guided pace laps, and the thrill that is the Indianapolis 500.

Felix Rosenqvist edges Team Penske’s David Malukas by .0233 seconds at the yard of bricks for the closest finish in Indy 500 history (Photo: Anthony Sylvia | The Podium Finish).

The race was a tale of varying pit strategies and drastic fuel savings that made for a dramatic and compelling final 30 Laps. Pato O’Ward, Marcus Armstrong and Rosenqvist made their final pit stops on Laps 164, 165 and 166, respectively, on the edge of the fuel window to finish the race.

In the meantime, Malukas, Scott McLaughlin, and Alex Palou were in the group on a different pit sequence that made their final stops on Laps 175 (Malukas) and 176 (Palou and McLaughlin). Malukas led his group off pit road and was in full chase mode to the front group that built over a 20 second lead with O’Ward leading Rosenqvist that had 2 Laps more fuel than the Mexican driver.

With the laps ticking down quickly, that second chasing group was running out of time to catch the lead pack until A.J. Foyt Racing’s Caio Collet lost control of his No. 4 Combitrans Amazonia Chevrolet that triggered the sixth caution of the race. IndyCar officials threw the red flag to the delight of the massive crowd in attendance hoping for a green flag finish.

“It was the perfect situation for us before that,” said Rosenqvist. “We kind of had everything lined up. Pato was struggling with fuel, and we were pretty rich (on fuel) to the end. I was like: ‘This is going to be great. At some point you’re just going to pass him and hopefully cruise to the win.’ But then in the end, everything flipped upside-down.”

“It actually was good when I got back to third because it felt like I was hunting instead of being hunted.”

Rosenqvist led the field to green on Lap 196 after the red flag, with O’Ward and Armstrong tailing. Armstrong made an aggressive move and passed entering in Turn 1 as another yellow flag came out for Mick Schumacher brushing the outside wall in Turn 1, that set up a green/white restart on Lap 199.

Once the field went green for the 1-lap dash for the sweet taste of milk, Malukas stormed past Armstrong entering Turn 1 and started to distance himself from the two MSR teammates battling side by side all the way through Turn 3. But at Indy, it’s never over until you cross the famed yard of bricks.

Rosenqvist cleared his teammate Armstrong in the north chute and carried unbelievable momentum through Turn 4 and history was made in a race that saw 629 on-track passes and a record-breaking 70 lead changes (previous mark set in 2013 with 68).

The U.S. Army blackhawk helicopters lead the field during the 11 rows of three salute during the pace laps of the 110th running of the Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge (Photo: Anthony Sylvia | The Podium Finish).

“I don’t know what else we could have done,” said Malukas as he couldn’t hold back tears. “We were the fastest car that whole race. I gave it 150 percent. I mean, I almost crashed this damn car every lap, and we still ended up with a P2.

“I just can’t believe it. I don’t know what else I can give. So close. This place, we’re going to come back and bring it everything. We’re going to give it 160 percent the next time.”

McLaughlin finished third in the No. 3 Pennzoil Team Penske Chevrolet, as the storied team placed two drivers in the top three. O’Ward placed fourth in the No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet, his fifth career top-four finish in seven Indy 500 starts, still chasing that elusive victory. Armstrong rounded out the top five in the No. 66 Acura Honda of Meyer Shank Racing w/Curb Agajanian despite taking the green flag in the lead on Lap 199.

The NTT IndyCar Series carries the momentum into the Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix presented by Lear on Sunday, May 31.

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