INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA- Marcus Ericcson narrowly misses out on Indy 500 victory, as Alex Palou wins in Indiana for his 5th victory of the season.
The NTT INDYCAR SERIES returned to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Sunday for the 109th edition of the world-famous Indianapolis 500. The sellout crowd were not short of drama, as Alex Palou became the first Spaniard to win the Indy500 and collected himself the first oval win of his illustrious career.
The opening half of the 200-lap race was chaotic for many, with 6 cautions coming in the first 108 laps. One of these cautions was a result of a crash from Team Penske’s Scott McLaughlin, who lost control of his car whilst trying to warm his tyres up right at the start of the 200 laps. However, once the drivers had settled into the race, the second 100 laps were characterized by tense duels and riveting passes.
It was not to be for Josef Newgarden who failed to become to first driver to win 3 consecutive Indy500’s, as was met with a mechanical fault to end his race 135 laps in. Heading into the closing stages of the race, it was David Malukas who held the lead ahead of Andretti Global’s Marucs Ericsson. However, Ericsson stole the lead when Malukas pulled into the pit stop with 30 laps to go. Palou sat closely behind Ericcson in P2, opting for a measured race strategy to save fuel for the later laps. However, Alex Palou shocked 350,000 fans when he performed an impressive maneuver on lap 187, which would be the last lead change of the race.
Ericsson and Palou continued to contest for first place for another 13 laps, however the Spaniard was able to seal the victory on the final lap when the race control displayed the yellow flag to the drivers, due to a crash towards the rear of the grid from Nolan Siegel. Alex Palou earned his fifth victory of the season, with Marcus Ericsson in P2, and David Malukas in P3. Pato O’Ward finished 4th to maintain his 2nd position in the championship standings, however he now sits 112 points behind Alex Palou in the lead.
The 2025 NTT INDYCAR SERIES will resume on Sunday 1st June, with the Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix taking place on the streets of downtown Detroit.
