Felix Rosenqvist became Sweden’s third winner of the Indy 500 by beating Penske’s David Malukas on the line in what would be the closest finish in 110 editions. All that while recently becoming a dad and not driving for either Chip Ganassi Racing, so the Meyer Shank Racing driver was rightfully over the moon.
“What an incredible finish, first of all,” Rosenqvist reflected on his record-breaking pass. “That’s the way I’ve always pictured it in my head for some reason. It was almost like muscle memory when it happened because I’ve been dreaming about that last lap move.
“It’s kind of weird, you never really get that last lap move in the Indy 500, and it just played out perfectly.”
The now two-time IndyCar winner had nothing but kind words for his team.
“The car was a rocket. Thank you, Meyer Shank Racing, Honda, SiriusXM, all our partners. It takes an army to create a rocket like that. It was so hooked up all day, from the get-go.
“We actually didn’t change anything all day. It was like, let’s save the time in the pits and leave it as it is. And it was so good. It was a little loose in the end, but I think it was just perfect.
Hard but respectful racing results in closest Indy 500 finish ever
On the line, Rosenqvist had 0.0233 seconds in hand over Malukas. However, without his fellow competitors racing him hard but fair, the finish wouldn’t be as epic as it was, Rosenqvist explained.
“To race all those guys, I know them all very well, David, Pato and Marcus, and I know they’re probably pretty bummed right now, but I think it’s really cool when you race against drivers with that level of respect.”
“We raced super hard,” he added. “There was some wheel banging and some tire marks on the side pods, which is cool, but no one ended in the wall. I think that’s why it turned out to be such a great finish and such a show for the fans.
“That means a lot to me. Even if — if that was on another track, I still would have been over the moon. And to do it here in Indy in front of 350K people, that’s just unreal.”
The high line was the right line
Prior to pipping Malukas on the line, Rosenqvist battled for a full lap with team mate Marcus Armstrong. The young Kiwi led the field going to green for the final lap, but eventually had to settle for third. That momentum wasn’t going to be wasted Rosenqvist explained.
“I had that momentum going, and I was kind of like, I’m going to go on the high line, and I’m not going to ruin this momentum. If someone comes in the way, that’s it.
“But no one did, and I was able to stay on the high lane through the whole thing, and I was getting a side draft at the same time from the other guys.
“But I thought I was second, to be honest. I was like, this is — this sucks, now we’re second in the 500. I guess it was a good day; we did what we could.
“Then it just kind of pulled, like the big Honda motor just — yeah, I thought I didn’t have it, and then I shifted up, and it was just kind of sucking up to David, and it was just enough to get me over the finish line half a foot ahead of him. You can’t even dream up that stuff. It was just so cool. I’ll watch it a million times.“
Lessons learned in 2022 came in handy
Rosenqvist had been close to winning the Indy 500 before. In 2022 he had to lift in the final lap which resulted in compatriot Marcus Ericsson becoming the winner. This time around he decided to keep the momentum going, acknowledging he learned from previous mistakes.
“I was like, I can’t ruin this momentum because that’s been a thing I’ve been caught doing here in the past. I think it was ’22 or — yeah, ’22 when I finished fourth. Pato got low and I basically had to brake on the final lap, and that was it.
“Like, the run is gone. You’re never going to recover. I was like, whatever happens here, I’ve just got to keep my run, even if it’s on the third lane. We’ve just got to do it.
“That’s kind of the only option you have. You don’t really have an option to go low because there wasn’t any room, and it was just stacked down there, and I was just kind of — I was going wheel to wheel with I think Marcus for the whole back straight, so there wasn’t a door open to go in.
“And I was like, yep, this is going to be it. Like, I’ll stay flat and see what happens.”
After battling Armstrong around the outside for four corners, Rosenqvist almost was at peace with second place before the draft and the Honda hybrid power propelled him to the win.
“It worked out perfectly that David was — he was the perfect distance ahead to give me a little tow because, if he was closer, I probably would have just sat on his gearbox over the finish line.
“The hybrid, I think I deployed — everything was just — if you replay it a million times, it probably wouldn’t happen that way.”
Confidence key to winning at the Brickyard
Having confidence is of course key for all racing drivers, but when asked what gave him the confidence despite a possible last lap crash, Rosenqvist emphasised that it is indispensable for coming first over that famous yard of brick.
“But yeah, I was very determined today,” he said. “I’ve been very close — I wouldn’t even say close, but I’ve been in that position, top 4, towards the end many times here, and I had the car to do it.
“And this year we talked a lot, what does it really take to really do it. I felt I had more confidence today. I think that was the difference, and the hunger to do it.
“I think that’s what it takes here to win it. You need to be ready to risk it all on the last lap. If it ended in the fence, I think I would have been proud for my run. That’s the way you have to approach it.”
