Felix Rosenqvist etched his name into Indianapolis 500 history after winning the 110th edition of the race by just 0.0233 seconds – the narrowest margin ever recorded at the Brickyard. The dramatic finish came after the 34-year-old charged past David Malukas on the outside during the final straightaway Sunday at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
The Swedish driver entered the final lap trailing Malukas before pulling ahead by inches at the checkered flag following 200 laps around the iconic 2.5-mile oval.
“Unreal. I still don’t believe it,” Rosenqvist said in Victory Lane. “I don’t know what to say. What a car. What a car. Massive thanks to the team.”
Chaotic closing laps changed everything
The final moments of the race turned chaotic after a fuel-strategy gamble helped Rosenqvist move into contention late.
With 14 laps remaining, he overtook Pato O’Ward on the backstretch to grab the lead.
But the complexion of the race changed again when Brazilian rookie Caio Collet slammed into the outside wall in a fiery crash with eight laps left, forcing officials to throw a red flag.
When the race resumed with four laps remaining, Rosenqvist lined up ahead of O’Ward, Marcus Armstrong and Malukas.
Armstrong surged to the lead on the restart before another caution interrupted the action after Mick Schumacher hit the wall.
That final caution created a one-lap shootout to decide the race.
Last-lap duel rewrites Indy 500 history
Malukas attacked immediately on the outside entering Turn 1 and appeared poised for victory.
However, Rosenqvist mounted one final run exiting the final corner and edged ahead just before the finish line. Scott McLaughlin finished third behind the top two.
The pass also capped the 70th lead change of the race, setting a new Indianapolis 500 record.
Rosenqvist’s margin surpassed the previous closest finish mark set in 1992, when Al Unser Jr. defeated Scott Goodyear by 0.043 seconds.
Closest Indy 500 finishes in history
2026 Felix Rosenqvist 0.0233 seconds
1992 Al Unser Jr. 0.043 seconds
2014 Ryan Hunter-Reay 0.060 seconds
2006 Sam Hornish Jr. 0.063 seconds
2023 Josef Newgarden 0.097 seconds
2015 Juan Pablo Montoya 0.104 seconds
1982 Gordon Johncock 0.160 seconds
2017 Takuma Sato 0.201 seconds
2019 Simon Pagenaud 0.208 seconds
2003 Gil de Ferran 0.299 seconds
Rosenqvist earns biggest win of career
The victory marked only the second IndyCar triumph for Rosenqvist since joining the series in 2019 and his first victory since Road America in 2020.
It also delivered one of the most memorable finishes in Indianapolis 500 history.
