On Sunday, May 24, Swedish driver Felix Rosenqvist won the 2026 Indy 500 in the closest finish the 115-year-old race has ever seen.
There was late heartbreak for some drivers, but the event dubbed the “greatest spectacle in racing” continues to live up to its title.
Key details
The Indy 500 is a 200-lap, 500-mile race that takes place at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Memorial Weekend every year.
The race first took place in 1911 and has since seen 110 runnings.
As the race involves cars travelling almost entirely above 200mph, for safety reasons, it also has a 33-car limit.
Four drivers share the record for most wins in the Indy 500, each with four wins: A.J. Foyt, AI Unser, Rick Mears and Hélio Castroneves.
Last-lap desperation
In the number 60 Honda of Meyer Shank Racing, Rosenqvist became the 77th different driver to win the Indianapolis 500 on Sunday as he won by 0.0233 seconds, pipping American driver David Malukas on the line.
The previous record for a tight finish was set in 1992 when Al Unser Jr. held off Scott Goodyear by 0.043 seconds.
On Sunday, the last-lap dash was set in motion by rookie and ex-F1 driver Mick Schumacher, who brushed the barrier on turn two of lap 197.
He crawled back to the pits, and on lap 199, it was announced that the caution was to be lifted at the end of the lap, leaving a one-lap shootout for glory.
Marcus Armstrong was in first when the caution ended, with Malukas in second and Rosenqvist in third.
Going into turn one, Malukas got Armstrong right away, while Rosenqvist fought around the outside of Armstrong for three corners straight in an offensive manner unseen on this stage.
Malukas thought he had it as Rosenqvist finally pulled around the final corner ahead of Armstrong, but the Swede got an incredible run-off on turn four, managing to pull up alongside and then beat Malukas in a drag race to the yard of bricks (the finish line), despite the American driver’s desperate attempts at a last-gasp defence.
Race round-up
Scott McLaughlin pipped both Pato O’Ward and Armstrong on the line for third place in the end, with that gap being even smaller than the winning margin.
Pole-sitter and defending winner Alex Palou enjoyed a number of laps in the lead, but he was caught out by the alternate strategy come the last quarter, ultimately finishing the race in seventh position.
The first crash came when Ryan Hunter-Reay spun and hit the wall, with Katherine Legge also hitting the wall in avoidance of his car.
The race saw Ed Carpenter, Josef Newgarden and Caio Collet end up in the barriers too, and Alexander Rossi, Will Power, Christian Rasmussen and Castroneves all retired because of mechanical issues.
Driver reactions
Winner of the race, Rosenqvist, told Sky Sports: “What a car. Massive thanks to the team.
“We had two cars in the wind at the end, and that’s a luxury position to be in as a team.
“I felt we had the best car today. In all situations, we kind of had it all under control.
“That last yellow didn’t help us, but it kind of worked out the right way when I got back to third, and then I had a flat-out lap on the high line, and it was just the coolest.”
In contrast, a clearly disappointed Malukas said: “I don’t know what else we could have done. We were the fastest car in that whole race.
“We gave it 150 per cent. I almost crashed this car every lap. I’m sewn up with the P2. I don’t know what else I can give.
“I give everything to this team. We’ve had a stellar month, and they give me so much support. This place man. We’re going to come back again and give it 160 per cent.”
Malukas also finished second at the 2025 Indy 500.
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SportJustSport writers 
Michael Davey