Alex Palou has etched his name into history by winning the 109th running of the Indianapolis 500. The championship leader passed Marcus Ericsson for the lead with fourteen laps to go and never looked back. Ericsson surprisingly finished second, with David Malukas taking third.

Just like last year, the race was once again affected by rain. Around the scheduled start time, light rain began falling over the circuit, forcing a delay. Eventually, the cars rolled off the grid about 45 minutes later than planned.

Before the green flag even waved, drama had already unfolded. During the warm-up lap, Scott McLaughlin gave it just a bit too much throttle while heating his tires and suddenly spun into the pit wall. The front left of the #3 car suffered significant damage and wouldn’t even make it to the green flag.

At the same time, a small fire broke out near the left rear wheel of Scott Dixon’s car. However, the former race winner was instructed to continue and was able to start the race without further issues.

When the green flag finally waved, polesitter Robert Shwartzman held onto the lead, followed by Pato O’Ward and Takuma Sato. Toward the back of the field, things went wrong with Ryan Hunter-Reay, who turned right before Turn 1. This forced teammate Jack Harvey to swerve, causing him to make contact with Marco Andretti. Andretti spun and hit the wall sideways.

It didn’t take long after the start for Shwartzman to lose the lead. First, he was passed by O’Ward, then by Sato, who eventually pushed through to take the lead.

After ten laps, the race was neutralized again as more rain began to fall. During this caution, a large portion of the field pitted. There were major issues for both Shwartzman and Kyle Larson, who lost significant ground. Dixon spent extra time in the pits for repairs and ended up three laps down.

During the long green-flag stint that followed, several drivers retired due to technical issues. A fire broke out on board Alexander Rossi’s Ed Carpenter Racing car, which intensified in the pit lane. Rinus VeeKay’s race ended after 81 laps when he discovered brake problems as he approached his third pit stop. The Dutchman spun hard into the pit wall, ending his day.

VeeKay’s crash triggered another caution, during which chaos erupted. Leader Takuma Sato lost a lot of ground after his pit crew overshot the pit box. Even more trouble struck Shwartzman, who locked his front tires under braking into the pits and slammed into the pit wall. He also struck several members of the Prema crew, but thankfully, no one was injured.

Following the restart, things went wrong again quickly. In Turn 2, Larson had to lift and spun, making contact with Kyffin Simpson. Both drivers ended up in the wall. Sting Ray Robb tried to avoid the crash but also ended up hitting the barrier.

Starting from the back row, Josef Newgarden had worked his way into the top ten, but his race ended after 135 laps. The American returned to the pits just one lap after his second-to-last stop, seemingly due to a fueling issue with the #2 car. The two-time defending Indy 500 winner was forced to retire early.

With three-quarters of the race complete, Ryan Hunter-Reay found himself in the surprising position of leading, followed by Conor Daly, David Malukas, and Alex Palou. But as the final pit stops approached, several drivers dropped out of contention. Daly lost significant ground due to worn tires, and Hunter-Reay fell laps down in the pits due to a hybrid system issue.

With 25 laps remaining, a leading group formed. Alongside Malukas and Palou, O’Ward fought his way to the front, while Marcus Ericsson suddenly joined the lead pack thanks to a late final pit stop. That stop gave him tires that were seven laps fresher than those of Palou and O’Ward.

Palou trailed the leading Ericsson for several laps before making a move in Turn 2 with 14 laps to go to take the lead. Despite getting stuck behind slower traffic, the Spaniard never relinquished his position. After 200 grueling laps, Palou not only claimed his first victory on an oval but also earned his first ever win in the Indianapolis 500.

Full results of the race on Indianapolis