Felix Rosenqvist Wins the 2026 Indianapolis 500 by 0.0233 Seconds Over Team Penske Driver David Malukas
- therookiereporters
- 5 days ago
- 2 min read
A one lap shootout to the finish line of the 110th running of the Indy500 resulted in Felix Rosenqvist achieving motorsport immortality and heartbreak for Team Penske driver David Malukas.
The beginning of the race brought no indication of what the rest of the race had in store for racing fans on Sunday May 24, 2026 as 33 drivers took to the green flag. Alex Palou started the race on pole position after a super qualifying run from him a week prior; but quickly lost the position on the Lap 1 to Alexander Rossi, who had suffered several injuries during Practice 7 and even underwent procedures. The procedures and the brace he wore did not stop the Ed Carpenter Racing driver from fighting Palou for the lead.
On Lap 19 a spin from Ryan Hunter Reay caused Katherine Legge to lose control of the car and also get out of the race. Legge also had plans of competing in the Coca-Cola 600 and became the first woman to attempt the Indy500 and the Coca-Cola 600 on the same day.
Just after the half-way point of the race light rain sent the race under caution, before ultimately causing a red flag. When the race was halted Scott Dixon was leading from Alex Palou and David Malukas. On the restart Malukas, O’Ward, and Rosenqvist all joined the fight for the win. Fighting Palou, Malukas pitted first, but Palou ultimately came out ahead of him. Ultimately on Lap 149 David Malukas was able to overtake Palou for the lead of the race over the yard of bricks on Lap 151.
With 26 laps to go Pato O’Ward who bided his time for the duration of the race seemed on track to win, with Rosenqvist behind him. The number 5 Arrow McLaren team chose to use an early stop which disadvantaged O’Ward and resulted in him having less fuel for the last stint than Rosenqvist who was chasing him for first.
Most impressively, Caio Collet, the Brazilian rookie driving the number 4 AJ Foyt Racing car led 9 laps of the Indy500 after qualifying in the 32nd position. Despite an impressive run from the rookie, he was unable to complete the race as a result of a crash that saw his car in flames with 8 laps to go resulting in the second red flag of the session.
On the restart David Malukas overtook MArcus Armstrong from fourth for the lead of the race. Mick Schumacher brushed the wall of turn 2 and resulted in another caution, which ultimately led to the 1 lap run to the finish, which saw heartbreak for David Malukas and racing Immortality for Swedish driver Felix Rosenqvist.
Article Written by Israa Ihab
