Rosenqvist won the Indy 500 with a margin of 0.0233 seconds.
The classic Indy 500 race often brings various surprises – and this time was no exception.
Felix Rosenqvist won the race at the famous oval track in Indianapolis, which took place for the 110th time yesterday, becoming the third representative of Sweden to achieve this feat. Before him were Ken Brack in 1999 and Marcus Ericsson in 2022, but Rosenqvist's victory will go down in history also because the Swedish driver of the Meyer Shank Racing team won with a margin of just 0.0233 seconds – the smallest difference between first and second place ever recorded at the Indy 500.
Rosenqvist qualified 4th, stayed in the top ten throughout the race, and his team opted for an alternative tactical approach that ultimately proved correct, although it was risky in its own way. But Felix and several other drivers found themselves in the leading group after the race was neutralized by yellow flags shortly before the finish, which were then replaced by red flags.
After that, there was another yellow flag period when Mick Schumacher hit the barrier, and the final restart was given just one lap before the finish. And it was this sprint that Rosenqvist won, literally overtaking David Malukas, a young American racing for Team Penske, at the last moment. It is said that he couldn't hold back his tears after the finish, and unlike Felix, these were not tears of joy.
“For some reason, I always imagined that the winning finish would be just like this,” commented Rosenqvist. “When it actually happened, the feeling was almost like when muscle memory kicks in, as I had dreamed of such a surge on the last lap. You could say it’s even strange, as such maneuvers on the last lap never happen at the Indy 500, but everything came together perfectly this time.
The competition was extremely fierce. I had to bump wheels, and there are marks on the side pontoons of my car, and that’s cool too. But no one crashed into the wall, and I think that’s why we had such a magnificent finish, and the fans saw a great show.”
Felix Rosenqvist is 34 years old; he once performed well in youth series, was the champion of the European Formula 3, won the Macau Grand Prix twice, but we also remember him mainly from Formula E, where he raced for Mahindra and secured the Indian team its first victory in 2017. Since 2019, Felix has been competing in IndyCar, and now he has achieved a truly loud success.
It is worth adding that Scott McLaughlin (Team Penske) finished third, Pato O'Ward (Arrow McLaren) took fourth place, and Marcus Armstrong, Rosenqvist's teammate, rounded out the top five.
Also in the top ten, we see the names of two Formula 1 veterans – Romain Grosjean finished 9th, and Takuma Sato 10th. Mick Schumacher was classified 18th.
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Rosenqvist won the Indy 500 with a margin of 0.0233 seconds.
Felix Rosenqvist won the race at the famous oval racetrack in Indianapolis, which took place yesterday for the 110th time, becoming the third representative of Sweden to achieve this...