Felix Rosenqvist finished fifth in a thrilling 109th Running of the Indianapolis 500, coming home less than three seconds from victory to haul himself into the top five in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES standings.
Rosenqvist started The Greatest Spectacle in Racing from fifth on the grid and quickly moved up to third, overcoming seven caution periods and a range of split strategies in the field to remain firmly in contention throughout the 500 miles.
As the race drew to a conclusion, the Meyer Shank Racing Swede ran in the lead draft, running fifth in a group separated by less than three seconds over the last 30 laps.
Rosenqvist’s shot at victory was ultimately blemished when an attempted pass on a rival, out-of-position driver didn’t quite stick, causing him to understeer high up the oval and lose critical, potentially race-winning momentum.
As it was, fifth at the flag in the world’s biggest race still marked the conclusion to another positive event for Rosenqvist, netting him his fifth top ten finish in the first six races of the INDYCAR season.
“P5 in the Indy 500, and at the end of the day it’s a strong result,” says Felix Rosenqvist. “It was a good race for us. We had two restarts where we lost out a bit, but also a couple that were really good. Everyone kind of went through the same thing and we were hanging in the same group.
“It was hard to pass and I feel like we were a bit quicker than the guys in front. I was risking the car every corner to try to get a run and I wasn’t even close to get around Pato (O’Ward). Ultimately if I could have moved further up the group, into the top three, I think it could have been a different outcome, but unfortunately I was pretty swamped on a passing attempt there and lost momentum instead.”
The result moves Rosenqvist up to fifth in the INDYCAR championship standings.
“It’s always disappointing not to win this one, especially when you get that close and the car has such speed, but the team has done a great job these last few weeks and I’m really proud of the execution from everyone today,” Rosenqvist concludes. “In terms of the championship, it’s a good outcome, and we can take away a lot of positives going into the rest of the season.”
Underlining his pace throughout the Month of May, Rosenqvist sums up the 2025 Indy 500 having set the outright fastest lap of the month at 234.176 mph.
The NTT INDYCAR SERIES is back on track in just one week’s time as the intense schedule of events continues with the Detroit Grand Prix (June 1).
RESULTS
NTT INDYCAR SERIES | Rd. 6
109th Indianapolis 500
Indianapolis Motor Speedway (USA)
1: Alex Palou (ESP), Ganassi, 200 laps
2: Marcus Ericsson (SWE), Andretti, +0.682s
3: David Malukas (USA), AJ Foyt Racing, +1.142s
4: Pato O’Ward (MEX), Arrow McLaren, +2.132s
5: Felix Rosenqvist (SWE), Meyer Shank Racing, +2.946s
CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS
NTT INDYCAR SERIES | After 6/17 races
1: Alex Palou (ESP), Ganassi, 306 p.
2: Pato O’Ward (MEX), Arrow McLaren, 191 p.
3: Kyle Kirkwood (USA), Andretti, 180 p.
4: Christian Lundgaard (DEN), Arrow McLaren, 177 p.
5: Felix Rosenqvist (SWE), Meyer Shank Racing, 163 p.