Marcus Ericsson has won the Ontario Honda Dealers Indy. The Swede needed a late charge after dropping back to seventh following his final pit stop. Ericsson passed Will Power, Alex Palou and Romain Grosjean to regain the lead and then cruised to victory over the final laps. The race featured a chaotic middle portion, with multiple cautions coming in quick succession. Rinus VeeKay was unable to improve on his starting position as a result and finished seventh.

Louis Foster Retains Lead at the Start

The first IndyCar race in the Canadian city of Markham got underway without too many problems. Only Caio Collet failed to make it through the opening lap unscathed, suffering damage after contact with another car that required extensive repairs. Louis Foster retained the lead at the start, while McLaughlin moved into second place ahead of Christian Lundgaard.

Louis Foster was the story of the first half of the race. The young Briton ran at the front throughout and stayed out the longest on the softer red tires. However, that cost him positions when Marcus Armstrong spun after contact with Sting Ray Robb shortly before Foster's scheduled stop. Foster lost several positions during his pit stop under the caution.

Chaos in the Middle of the Race

It was quickly back to yellow after the first restart, when Marcus Rasmussen was pushed into the wall by a spinning Scott Dixon. At the ensuing restart, Foster quickly charged forward. He moved up to third in no time, but during a passing attempt on Ericsson, he hit the inside wall before crashing hard into the outside wall. A major opportunity for victory went up in smoke for the Rahal Letterman Lanigan driver.

Kyle Kirkwood did the same thing shortly afterward, first hitting the inside wall and then the outside wall. When the pits opened during this caution, it came at around the point when the final pit stop could be made, so most of the field took advantage of the opportunity. Several drivers stayed out, hoping to have clean air at the front of the field. That plan did not work out, as Siegel tapped Newgarden into a spin at the hairpin. Another caution followed.

Ericsson Charges Back to the Lead After Late Pit Stop

That caution would prove to be the final one of the race. Most of the drivers who had not yet pitted headed into the pits. Marcus Ericsson and Andretti Global had a different plan. They stayed out to make one final attempt at running in clean air. They got exactly that and made the most of it, with Ericsson turning several laps that were three seconds faster than the rest of the field.

As a result, Ericsson did not drop to the back of the field during his final pit stop, instead returning to the track in fifth place. VeeKay and Power were able to get past him, but once Ericsson got up to speed, there was no stopping him. The Swede charged forward, passing his teammate Power in the process, and closed the gap to race leader Romain Grosjean. With a clean pass, Ericsson retook the lead and went on to claim his first victory since St. Petersburg in 2023.

Grosjean secured an excellent result for Dale Coyne. Thanks to two extremely long 36-lap stints, he took second place ahead of Will Power. Power had started from the back of the grid and completed the podium. Alex Palou briefly appeared to be closing in on the lead during the final stint, but fell back to fourth in the closing stages. The Ganassi Racing driver nevertheless continues to strengthen his position in the championship.

Full results of the race on Markham