Alex Palou has achieved practically every part the NTT IndyCar Collection has to supply in his younger profession. The Spaniard is a three-time champion and entered Sunday with 15 profession wins at simply 28 years outdated.
There was only one evident omission from his resume — the Borg Warner Trophy. However on a cool, overcast Sunday in Indianapolis, Palou formally crossed that off his checklist.
Palou surged previous 2022 winner Marcus Ericsson within the closing phases and fended the Swede off with the assistance of two main automobiles to say the 109th Working of the Indianapolis 500. It was Palou’s fifth win and sixth-straight top-two end in as many races to open the 2025 IndyCar season, a dominant stretch that leaves him as the plain championship favourite heading into the summer season stretch.
“I can not imagine it,” Palou mentioned. “What a tremendous day. What a tremendous race. … By the ten crew, all people at CGR, HRC. I can not imagine it. It’s superb to be right here. It’s superb to win.”
Alex Palou, Chip Ganassi Racing crosses the yard of bricks at Indianapolis Motor Speedway for the 2025 Indy 500 win.
Photograph by: Brandon Badraoui / Motorsport Photos through Getty Photos
4 years prior, an inexperienced Palou had been within the lead when the veteran Helio Castroneves handed him and used the tow of main automobiles on the tail finish of the lead lap to take care of the lead for a record-tying fourth Indy 500 triumph. On Sunday, Palou used the teachings discovered that day to his benefit, following Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing’s Devlin DeFrancesco and Louis Foster and utilizing their tow to assist him preserve gasoline and preserve the entrance spot.
“On the finish, I didn’t know if I used to be going to have the ability to cross Marcus or not,” Palou admitted. “However I made it occur. First oval win. What a greater place.”
An emotional Palou additionally loved the same victory celebration to Castroneves, working down the monitor earlier than celebrating together with his crew and the cheering followers. In the meantime Ericsson regarded on, despondent after coming house .6822s shy of his second Indy 500 triumph.
David Malukas completed third, capping off a powerful day for AJ Foyt Racing. Pato O’Ward and Felix Rosenqvist accomplished the top-five, with Kyle Kirkwood, Santino Ferrucci, Christian Rasmussen, Christian Lundgaard and Conor Dalywrapping up the top-10.
Sunday’s race began in chaotic vogue, with two accidents earlier than the sector might full a full lap of inexperienced flag racing. After a quick rain delay to begin the race, Workforce Penske’s Scott McLaughlin misplaced management of his No. 3 Chevrolet whereas attempting to heat his tires and crashed into the within wall initially of the ultimate deliberate tempo lap.
The race began underneath warning on account of McLaughlin’s error. The remaining automobiles created the standard rows of three and eventually took the inexperienced flag on the finish of lap 4, however the race was once more positioned underneath the warning flag after Marco Andretti crashed into flip 1, his twentieth Indy 500 look undone by a run-in with Jack Harvey.
Scott McLaughlin, Workforce Penske
Photograph by: James Gilbert / Getty Photos
That set the tone for the day, with crashes and mechanical gremlins shaking up the working order and eliminating many hopeful contenders.
Alexander Rossi climbed into the top-five solely to undergo a gearbox problem and have his automobile catch hearth throughout an unscheduled pit cease. Rinus Veekay misplaced management of his machine and crashed into pit wall when coming in for a green-flag cease. Laps later, pole-sitter Robert Shwartzman clambered into his pit crew and the pit wall when sliding into his field for a cease.
Kyle Larson’s try at The Double was threatened by the rain and lots of cautions, however any worries over timing have been undone when Larson crashed with Kyffin Simpson and Sting Ray Robb on lap 91. Two-time defending race winner Josef Newgarden’s shot at historical past additionally ended early, undone by a gasoline pump problem after simply 135 laps. Scott Dixon suffered a hearth earlier than the inexperienced and ended up dropping three laps when his crew elected to exchange his brakes.
Ultimately, simply 23 of the 33 automobiles made it to the final lap, with Arrow McLaren’s Nolan Siegel crashing on the ultimate circuit to deliver the race to an finish underneath warning.
With the Month of Could full in Indianapolis, IndyCar will enterprise north to Michigan for a June 1 race on the streets of Detroit.
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