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.
