INDIANAPOLIS — Despite all the issues at the 109th Running of the Indianapolis 500, Sunday was finally the day for Alex Palou.
Under yellow flag conditions, the Spaniard secured victory at the Indy 500, a fitting conclusion to a race plagued by crashes and pit lane issues. This triumph ends the streak of Indy 500 victories eluding the series’ most dominant driver.
The Chip Ganassi Racing competitor had to fend off a strong challenge from 2022 champion Marcus Ericsson in the closing laps. Ericsson secured the second position, with David Malukas finishing third, Pato O’Ward in fourth, and Felix Rosenqvist in fifth.
Although Palou only led for 14 laps during the race, at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, the number of laps led is irrelevant as long as you’re at the front when crossing the finish line.
He’s the first Spaniard to win the storied race.
“I cannot believe it. What an amazing day. What an amazing race,” Palou said. “I cannot believe it. It was tough. Tough conditions out there, especially if you were like, third or fourth in the pack. Even leading, the fuel consumption was super high, so they didn’t want me to lead. I wanted to lead, honestly, so yeah, made it happen.”
The win marked his fifth in six IndyCar races this season. And while he is a three-time series champion, his impressive resume was lacking a 500 victory. Not anymore.
Palou passed Ericsson on Lap 186 to take the lead and then held on as the rest of the field tried to catch him. No one found an opening to pass.
Storylines abounded for the 2025 edition of “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing.”
Back-to-back winner Josef Newgarden was seeking his third straight Indy 500 win, but a penalty during qualifying sent him to the back row. He steadily worked his way through the field before a fuel pump issue foiled his chances to repeat. He’d gotten up to ninth position and finished 25th. Penske teammate Will Power, also kicked to the back of the field, finished 19th.
Longtime 500 favorite Helio Castroneves was racing against history as he tried to become the first driver to win five times. He crept his way into the top ten and finished 13th.
Kyle Larson was chasing some history of his own, first racing in Indianapolis before heading to Charlotte for NASCAR’s Coca-Cola to make a run at “The Double.” But he wouldn’t drive 1,100 miles after crashing just after a restart.
The crash, which happened near the race’s midway point, also took out Kyffin Simpson and Sting Ray Robb. After the crash, Larson expressed disappointment and said he would concentrate his efforts on running strong in Charlotte’s NASCAR race.
Rain delayed the start of the race by more than 30 minutes before Roger Penske, IMS chairman and Team Penske owner, delivered the iconic words: “Drivers, start your engines!”
Even before the race started, problems were apparent. Scott McLaughlin crashed in the parade laps, ending his day before the green flag dropped. Cameras captured a distraught McLaughlin in the aftermath. It appeared he was trying to warm up his tires when his car got loose.
Sparks flew from Scott Dixon’s car, which appeared to be from overheating brakes. He managed the issue without missing the start. However, he later had to go into the pits to have his brakes changed and ended up three laps back. He finished 23rd.
The 500 eventually started under caution. Just as soon as the green flag dropped, the yellow came out on Lap 4 as Marco Andretti crashed into the wall. Andretti told the broadcast he “got crowded,” had nowhere to go and ended up crashing.
While there were no more rain stoppages, some light sprinkles did put the race under yellow for a few laps.
The pits were particularly perilous.
Colton Herta earned a penalty for a speed violation in the pits. Rinus VeeKay, who’d started 31st, spun and crashed while heading to the pits. In radio chatter, he said he had “no brakes” as he was making his way in for the stop.
And then there Alexander Rossi. For a time, he and teammate Christian Rasmussen were passing the lead back and forth in a strategy to save fuel and pace the field. But Rossi’s car caught fire in the pits—with a crewmember also catching fire—bringing an end to his day.
Rossi told the broadcast he and his teammate were okay. He called it “another opportunity lost” and lamented the issue as his car had been running strong.
Also in pit row, Takuma Sato missed his spot on the grid and had to put his car into reverse, costing him precious time. He’d been running strong throughout the race and finished 11th. Rookie and pole winner Robert Shwartzman came in too fast for his spot, hitting crewmembers and making contact with the wall. The crash brought his underdog story to an unfortunate end.
Shwartzman said he was trying to slow down but his brakes locked up. He didn’t know what caused the issue.
Pit row didn’t spare 2014 500 champ Ryan Hunter-Reay, who made a strong run at a second win. He led at the midpoint and with 50 laps left. However, his car locked up after a pitstop at a crucial point of the race, and he couldn’t recover. He finished 24th.
The unofficial results for the race:
- Alex Palou
- Marcus Ericsson
- David Malukas
- Pato O’Ward
- Felix Rosenqvist
- Kyle Kirkwood
- Santino Ferrucci
- Christian Rasmussen
- Christian Lundgaard
- Conor Daly
- Takuma Sato
- Callum Ilott
- Helio Castroneves
- Devlin DeFrancesco
- Louis Foster
- Nolan Siegel
- Colton Herta
- Ed Carpenter
- Will Power
- Graham Rahal
- Marcus Armstrong
- Jack Harvey
- Scott Dixon
- Ryan Hunter-Reay
- Josef Newgarden
- Sting Ray Robb
- Kyle Larson
- Kyffin Simpson
- Robert Shwartzman
- Rinus VeeKay
- Alexander Rossi
- Marco Andertti
- Scott McLaughlin
Information from the Associated Press was used in this report
