Rosenqvist takes Indianapolis by 0.023 seconds: 'Closest finish ever'
The Swede on the last lap took the lead from David Malukas; the third Swede in history to win the Indy 500, with 70 lead changes.
At Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Sunday evening, after the ceremonial milk drink in the winner’s tradition, Rosenqvist in the Meyer Shank Racing pit sat down on the garage floor. Driving coach Mike Hull tried to lift him for the media photo session, but the Swede just shook his head. “Give me 60 seconds, just to accept that this happened,” he said over the radio, which ESPN recorded without the driver’s knowledge.
The 32-year-old Swede at the 2026 Indy 500 by a margin of 0.023 seconds beat American David Malukas, the closest finish in the 110 editions of the race. Malukas, from Penske, had led from lap 197, but Rosenqvist on the final pass through Turn 4 produced an inside move rarely seen in the history of the race. The race featured 70 lead changes across 200 laps, also a record.
How did the Swede pull it off on the last lap?
After the yellow flag on lap 196 because of a crash between Caio Collet and Kyle Busch, which led to a long morning operation with fire crews, the restart on lap 199 was the key moment. Rosenqvist was second behind Malukas, two seconds back in the green zone. In Turn 1 of the first lap of the restarted race, Malukas closed off the middle of the track, Rosenqvist tried to go around on the outside, without success. In Turn 3 he made a second attempt on the inside, also rebuffed.
On the final pass through Turn 4 of the final lap, the Swede produced a move nobody had seen coming. Before the first entry into the corner, he accelerated onto the inside line, which in that segment is too fast for a normal entry. Malukas had to react to his position, which drew him into a position that on the exit of Turn 4 and the run onto the back straight was unfavourable. Rosenqvist came out of that move with a 6 kilometre-per-hour better exit speed, which on the back straight allowed him to pass and cross the finish line 0.023 seconds ahead of the American.
In statistical context, Rosenqvist is the third Swede to win the Indy 500, after Kenny Brack in 1999 and Marcus Ericsson in 2022. The win brings Meyer Shank Racing its second Indy 500 title in the last four years, the previous one with Helio Castroneves in 2021. The Brazilian in Sunday’s race finished eighth on his final start before retirement, which added an emotional weight to the team’s garage.
What next on the IndyCar calendar?
The next race is on Sunday June 1 in Detroit, on a street circuit through the heart of the Motor City. Rosenqvist with the Indy 500 win arrives with an 80-point lead in the driver standings, a real return to the top for someone who last season was seventh in the table. The next five races, according to the IndyCar calendar, are Detroit, Wisconsin, Springfield, Iowa and Toronto, with a pause for the Summer Olympics in Los Angeles from July 17 to August 2.
On the other side, Penske after losing Malukas at the end of the race has a reputation problem. Team Roger Penske, who in Indy 500 history have won 20 times, this time had Newgarden as defending champion crash into the wall on lap 4 under green, an unexpected result for a driver who had won the Indy 500 twice in a row. Newgarden walked away from the car under his own power and went to the medical centre with his hands raised, where after examination he was confirmed to have no injuries other than a broken right arm.
On the personal side, I see the 2026 Indy 500 as a career-defining race for Rosenqvist. The Swede over the last four years has been on the line between unquestionable talent and a missing run of wins, with strong qualifying but no race wins. With today’s title, plus 80 points in the standings, he is now the main favourite for the 2026 IndyCar championship. If he can hold form, the Swede can become the first non-US driver to win the championship since Sebastien Bourdais in 2007.
The next race in Detroit is on June 1, with qualifying on Saturday May 31.
