Felix Rosenqvist finally enjoyed an exclusive view of Indy: Victory Lane.
With this year’s victory Indianapolis 500 in dramatic fashion – building what looked to be an unassailable late lead, losing it after a red flag, then getting a second chance at another caution before furiously clawing it back to win by the slimmest margin ever – Swedish Spartakiad He did what hundreds of drivers could not do during 110 races. At the same time, a bold move obliterated his previous seven-year streak on one day of the Indy race.
Obviously, it takes speed to win the world’s most prestigious race, and Rosenqvist’s winning average of 174.199 mph is the sixth-fastest Indy 500 in history. But to cross the finish line first in 2026, the 34-year-old must first slow down and learn the lessons he has missed from past opportunities. That experience—both good and bad—was an invaluable asset when the unexpected came up.
So when Rosenqvist passed two-time Indy 500 contender David Malukas on the final lap to give him the lead in the final 50 feet, the move was a combination of blink-and-you’ll-miss-it performance shaped by near misses and hard crashes. “I saw that the team deserved a shot at victory,” he says. “If you give us a shot, we’ll make the most of it, and if it doesn’t, or if we’re on the wall, that’s it.”
Her courageous decision led to the victory of her life, which came exactly three weeks after another personal milestone – the birth of her first daughter. Rosenqvist’s first appearance in the winner’s circle was the ultimate reward of a career marred by unfortunate crashes, lost leads and mechanical failures. This time, Rosenqvist turned his personal frustration into a race build-up that helped him take advantage of his split-second advantage.
“The experience of just being in that situation for seven years, being thrown at the Speedway for good and bad, makes you know what to do when the moment comes,” Rosenquist said.
Film study, working with a performance coach and hard lessons from past losses all translated into the decision to time his move to Malukas with incredible precision and the 77th driver to drink the ceremonial milk.
While the sequence of events leading up to his second career IndyCar win was unique, Rosenqvist’s maneuver on that final lap would be something that helicopters would reminisce about for years to come. It was a perfect lap that was the product of building on his previous failed attempts at Indy, finally coming at the right time. However, even with full Support from Meyer Schenck behind him, there was no way to predict a finish like the #60 Honda.
“There is no way you would even dare to dream that whatever happened to me could happen in real life,” he said. “I’m not sure what it was like, it’s actually happened before. We were really creating something new with this finish.”
Indy 500 wins 7 losses in the making
Rosenquist’s margin of victory—0.0233 seconds—set a new Indy 500 record for the closest finish, breaking Al Unser Jr.’s 1992 mark by 0.0430 seconds from Scott Goodyear.
Along the way, his historic win was a victory for veteran drivers and muted critics who questioned his ability to lift the Borg-Warner Cup in the blue, white and red of Meyer Schenck after his previous outings had led to a string of race disappointments. A junior crash in 2019 and a 27th-place finish in 2021 highlighted his early low moments. Even when the pace seemed to be on the way – finishing fourth in both 2022 and 2025 – he was not in a position late in the race to reach the podium. An engine failure on lap 56 in 2024 only added to his heartbreak at the 2.5-mile oval.
None of these, he says, can match the doom of 2023. After qualifying fifth and leading 33 laps, a late-run slide sent him into the wall at Turn 1 on lap 185, resulting in a Kyle Kirkwood the detractor threw a tire over the wall of the tribune. “It was painful,” he says, “because I’ve had a much better race so far than I’ve had this year.”
Determined not to relive that kind of defeat, Rosenqvist prepared himself physically and mentally to maximize the chaotic moments that inevitably arise in such high-speed, high-pressure scenarios. According to him, the preparation was a continuous effort of the team until the fifth place finish last season. Alex Palu won.
During the season, Rosenqvist worked with the reaction speed specialists at Indy Vision Sports Elite Ares, which put him through mental and cognitive exercises specifically aimed at making discrete decisions on the road. The team had Rosenquist perform a variety of exercises, including answering math questions while his heart rate was elevated. “We’re doing exercises like calculating math problems at the same time you’re on the treadmill, where you’re stressing the brain in different ways,” he says. “I wouldn’t say it directly led to the win, but those things were important.”
He’s also spent more time in the film room, going through race replays with Meyer Shank’s teammate Marcus Armstrong and studying race planes to get a better feel for opposing drivers from a driver’s perspective. “Indy is like that where you build your good tricks every year and I feel a lot stronger every year and that trajectory has just continued to allow me to finally achieve something big.”
Tricks and teamwork that made Felix Rosenqvist’s dream come true
Rosenquist is leaving for the weekend Bommarito Automotive Group 500 a month that he admits will never be repeated. May was so full of emotional moments that winning the Indianapolis 500 came second to becoming a father for the first time. Rosenqvist and his wife, Emil, welcomed their daughter, Stella, on May 4. He then finished the month with a sixth-place finish at the Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix, completing an impressive run of career and personal bests.
“I think it’s going to be hard to be a dad three weeks early (and) win this race,” he says. “I think I have to accept that I’m probably not going to have the best three weeks of my life. This past month has brought out emotions that I didn’t know existed, so it’s great.”
While Rosenqvist is the face of the Meyer Schenck team, which carries the media responsibility and perks that come with winning the Indy 500, he is quick to point out that it was the group around him that got him to victory in his eighth attempt. “It takes an army to do this,” he says. “You have to prepare the car for months before the race. You need spotters and so many things that have to be right when it happens. Everyone did it – it was 10 out of 10 when it mattered.”
Even this year’s winning run started with a few days before the race. After dominating last weekend’s Indy 500 qualifying round, a slow final run dropped him to fourth and pushed Palu to the top spot. While it was frustrating to know he had the fastest car, failure became part of the process of dealing with adversity as an older and wiser vet. “Every time you go through that sequence, you learn something new, and that’s really what I think the more experienced guys, they know better what to do when that happens.”
In a race that also set the record for most lead changes (70), Rosenquist took the lead from Pato O’Ward on lap 185. His advantage grew to an insurmountable gap of 20 seconds before Cayo Collett’s crash on lap 193 brought out the red flag, obliterating his leaders and potentially relegating the race to 23. disappointment in well area. However, in the car, he heard only support and positivity, which alleviated any possibility of another mental spiral. “They were like, ‘Hey bro, we got this, we’re good here, we got the best car,'” he recalls.
On the restart, his lead came to an end as a chaotic foursome saw teammate Marcus Armstrong and David Malukas pass him. But hold on: Another crash, this time by Mick Schumacher on lap 197, brought out another caution and set up a wild one-lap shootout. Rosenqvist threw caution to the wind this time in the final lap – he caught O’Ward in a daring move before passing teammate Armstrong. It was the final race with leader Malukas doing a side project on the front end, pulling ahead in the final yards for the closest finish in Indy 500 history.
“I was so tight, man,” he says. “I wasn’t really thinking about anything else but like our line and trying to go forward and the fuel game that we played until the final moments of the race. In my book, we really should have won the race twice.”
