Felix Rosenqvist Edges David Malukas in Closest Indianapolis 500 Finish Ever

The difference: He was more focused on being a father and felt less pressure to get to victory lane.

“After having our baby Stella, it was like I had already won the month of May,” said Roseqvist, whose only other win came at Road America in July 2020. “But winning was the joy after an incredible month.”

Neither Rosenqvist’s wife, Emille, nor their newborn daughter were at the track.

Rosenqvist, Meyer Shank Yarış arabasının üstüne atladı, sütün tadına bakmadan önce kollarını havaya kaldırdı ve ardından sütü başının üzerine boşalttı. And why not enjoy it after the hardships endured on this iconic 2.5-mile trail?

Rosenqvist entered race day with five consecutive top-nine 500 qualifying runs but no pole position. He has also finished fourth twice in the last four years, including 2025, and 27th the other two times.

“I was given two options: I’m either going to lift or I’m going to collide with Felix,” said Armstrong, who finished fifth. “I chose to remove it. I don’t know if I could have done anything differently.”

Armstrong’un yoldan çekilmesiyle Rosenqvist, Malukas’ın arkasına geçti, arabasını dışarıya doğru savurdu ve arabayı olabildiğince sert bir şekilde itti. Momentum and draw pushed him past Team Penske’s top finisher, dropping Malukas to second for the second year in a row.

The margin of victory was even closer than in the 1992 race, when Al Unser Jr. beat Scott Goodyear to the finish line by 0.043 seconds. But this was little consolation for Malukas. Even moving to second place in the points standings was little consolation for the 24-year-old American.

“I don’t know what else we could have done,” Malukas said, understandably distraught. “Tüm zaman boyunca %150 sürüş yapıyorduk. Piyasadaki en hızlı araca sahiptik, tüm yarışı sevdik. Kazanmak bizimdi ve bunu biliyordum, bu yüzden hayatım boyunca hiç böyle zorlamadım.”

Malukas looked in position to win with four laps remaining.

This time Rosenqvist timed it perfectly, staying on the high driving line and not thinking twice about going for it. He became the third Swede to win the 500, after Kenny Brack in 1999 and Marcus Ericsson in 2022.

Rosenqvist even had to outpace his racing best friend, Arrow McLaren’s Pato O’Ward. İki kez yarış ikincisi, Malukas’ın takım arkadaşı Scott McLaughlin’in arkasında dördüncü oldu ve dört yıl içinde dördüncü kez ilk beşte yer aldı. Armstrong finished fifth.

“I’ve never seen a finish like this before,” Rosenqvist said. “Başlangıçta ‘Tamam, ben ikinciyim’ dedim çünkü bu asla olmaz, o pası almak için asla yeterli zamanınız olmaz. Ama oldu ve bu gerçekten inanılmaz.”

That contact started the final one-lap clash, and Rosenqvist felt it would be different this time.

“I think it’s the first time I’ve felt so little (pressure) because I had so much to come home to at night and it’s like, I’m happy,” Rosenqvist told reporters before telling reporters he spoke to his wife after the race. “It’s actually nice to kind of take the pressure off yourself when you think about the right things because we all put enough pressure on these people. I think it turns out that’s actually a good place to be a father.”

Pole galibi ve son Indy şampiyonu Alex Palou, en çok turu önde götürerek (59) ve pist üzerinde en fazla pas atarak (60) farkını 40 sayıya çıkardı. However, he settled for seventh place.

Çifte sorun Katherine Legge’in “The Double”ı tamamlayan ilk kadın olma girişimi, sadece 17 tur sonra Ryan Hunter-Reay’in dönen arabasından kaçamayınca sona erdi. Legge’s car skidded down the track at Turn 2 and hit the inside wall.

The British driver was checked at the track’s on-field medical care center and released. He was still planning to travel to Charlotte, North Carolina, for the Coca-Cola 600 on Sunday night. He is scheduled to start from 37th place.