Alex Palou won the 2025 Indianapolis 500, and the podium changed after the flag

Alex Palou won the 109th Indianapolis 500 on Sunday 25 May 2025, his first Indy win and his first oval victory in IndyCar. The finishing order was not settled on the night, though. Post-race inspection moved three cars to the back and promoted David Malukas and Pato O'Ward onto the podium behind the winner.

What is the Indianapolis 500 and where is it run?

The race takes place at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, a paved oval measuring 2.5 miles (4.02 km), in Speedway, Indiana. It has been held since 1911 and remains the most prestigious race on the IndyCar calendar. Fields traditionally number 33 cars, and the 2025 event was the 109th running.

Gainbridge is the presenting sponsor, and 2025 was the third year of its current deal. The original four-year agreement ran from 2019 to 2022. Indianapolis Motor Speedway reported a core staff of 200-250 people, with roughly 12,500 more on site for the race weekend to cover broadcast, safety, medical, security, retail and weather work.

Palou won on track, but the podium was not final until inspection was complete.

How did Alex Palou win the 2025 Indianapolis 500?

Palou went ahead on lap 187 and fended off Marcus Ericsson of Andretti Global to win for Chip Ganassi Racing. It was the team's sixth Indianapolis 500 victory, which ties it for second on the all-time list. It was also his sixth start at the track, and his best previous result had been second place in 2021.

The season had already been his. He had won four of the opening five events, including St. Petersburg, Thermal Club and Alabama, plus the Sonsio Grand Prix on the road course at Indianapolis. The one early round he did not win was Long Beach, where Kyle Kirkwood beat him. He arrived in Indiana with a 97-point cushion over Kirkwood in the standings.

Eight wins in 2025 also made him the first driver since Dario Franchitti in 2010 to win both the 500 and the series title in one year. He is a three-time series champion, and the 500 was the one prize missing from his record until now.

Why did the finishing order change after the race?

Marcus Ericsson, who had finished second, failed post-race technical inspection, along with his Andretti teammate Kyle Kirkwood and Callum Ilott. Officially, the three cars were dropped to the rear once the results went up. That left David Malukas second and Pato O'Ward third.

Kirkwood had finished sixth and Ilott twelfth, and their removal pushed everyone who had finished behind them forward. The podium a fan saw on the day was not the one in the record book, and the official order only settled once inspection was complete.

A difficult race for Team Penske

Team Penske had a weekend to forget. Josef Newgarden, the two-time defending winner, was trying to become the first driver to win three in a row. He and Will Power were sent to the back of the starting grid for technical infractions in qualifying, and Power later finished a lap down in 16th. Newgarden dropped out with mechanical failure.

Scott McLaughlin crashed heavily in practice, then crashed again on the pace lap. By the numbers, that was the weakest three-car total the team has posted at the 500 since 1992, and its poorest overall showing since it failed to make the field in 1995.

Kyle Larson's second attempt at Double Duty

Larson was making his second attempt at Double Duty, the plan to run the 500 and the Coca-Cola 600 on the same day. In 2024 the Charlotte race was stopped by rain before he could complete it. This time his race ended in a crash on lap 92 at Indianapolis. Earlier, at Charlotte, he had spent 34 laps at the front before a crash ended that day too.

The day was not wasted for him. Larson later won the 2025 Cup Series championship, which made him the first driver to race in the 500 and win the NASCAR title in the same calendar year. He had been named 2024 rookie of the year at Indianapolis as well.

Who took pole and who led the most laps?

Robert Shwartzman of Prema Racing took pole, the first rookie to win the Indianapolis 500 pole since Teo Fabi in 1983. He led eight laps before dropping out on lap 87, skidding into the wall as he entered the pits. Takuma Sato led the most laps of the race, but lost the lead after overshooting his pit stall.

Shwartzman was still named rookie of the year, despite the early exit. Sato battled back to finish ninth after his overshoot at the pit stall.

Rookie oval tests and the phases that gate them

Before a rookie can take part in the Rookie Orientation Program at Indianapolis, he must pass a supervised high-speed oval test at an approved venue such as Texas Motor Speedway or Homestead-Miami Speedway. Shwartzman and Louis Foster were assessed at Nashville Superspeedway on 26 March, and Jacob Abel had completed his evaluation at Texas on 14 November.

The programme has three phases. Phase one asks for ten laps between 205 and 210 mph (330 and 338 km/h), phase two fifteen laps between 210 and 215 mph (338 and 346 km/h), and phase three fifteen laps above 215 mph (346 km/h). Veterans who have been away from the oval since the previous year's race take only phases two and three as a refresher.

Nolan Siegel shows how strict the gate is. He had passed the programme the previous May but failed to qualify for the 2024 race, so he had to re-take the rookie test in October 2024. He passed all three phases without incident.

What went wrong at the April open test?

The open test ran across two days in April. Day one was delayed by an internet outage, and two cars were stopped on track with mechanical trouble. Day two was far more dramatic, with Kyle Larson and Takuma Sato both hitting the wall in turn 1 within twenty minutes of each other.

On Wednesday 23 April the track opened for veterans at 12:45 p.m., once the internet connection was fixed, and it stayed open to them until 2 p.m. Rookies and refreshers then had the track from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. Jack Harvey and Santino Ferrucci stopped with mechanical problems, and Graham Rahal brushed the outside wall in turn 3 with 13 minutes left. Scott Dixon was fastest at 225.182 mph (362.395 km/h), while Felix Rosenqvist set the best no-tow lap at 220.835 mph (355.399 km/h). Louis Foster, Jacob Abel and Robert Shwartzman completed their rookie tests that afternoon.

On Thursday the high boost session ran at 1,500 mbar (44.3 inHg), the level allowed in time trials, before the afternoon returned to race boost of 1,300 mbar (38.4 inHg). Scott McLaughlin set the fastest time in high boost at 232.686 mph (374.472 km/h), and Takuma Sato had the best no-tow lap before his crash, at 232.565 mph (374.277 km/h). Larson's first crash came at 10:37 a.m., when he hit the outside wall in turn 1 and then struck it again at turn 2.

Larson blamed a miscue, saying he had not adjusted the weight jacker before turn 1. Less than twenty minutes later Sato spun in turn 1 and hit the wall heavily at 10:54 a.m. The impact registered 94 Gs. He walked away, but later revealed a fractured rib and weeks of pain treatment. Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing confirmed that Sato's car could not be repaired, and he took a new chassis into May practice.

The afternoon session, from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. at race boost, was quieter but not trouble free. Rinus VeeKay ran out of fuel at 2:54 p.m. and coasted back to the pits, and the sudden slowdown in a draft train of seven cars nearly became a melee. Jacob Abel also ran out of fuel. Teams used the final twenty minutes to practise hot pit stops, and Alex Palou set the fastest lap of the final session at 223.993 mph (360.482 km/h).

How did practice week open in May?

Practice began on Tuesday 13 May under rain. Running started at 2:35 p.m., and lightning ended the day at 5:29 p.m., about 30 minutes early. Will Power was quickest at 227.026 mph (365.363 km/h), while Kyle Kirkwood led the no-tow ranking at 219.497 mph (353.246 km/h).

Wednesday brought more rain. Practice started at 1:08 p.m., lightning halted running for 54 minutes after 4 p.m., and a further yellow flag at 5:16 p.m. lasted 15 minutes. Alex Palou was fastest on the day at 227.546 mph (366.200 km/h).

Key speeds from the open test and practice

The 34-car field and the 2025 rules

Thirty-four entries were confirmed, among them eight former winners and four first-time 500 starters. Every car used the spec Dallara DW12 chassis with the Universal Aero Kit and the aeroscreen, with Honda (HRC) and Chevrolet (Ilmor) engines and Firestone tyres. Abel Motorsports chose not to enter, and instead supported Jacob Abel's entry at Dale Coyne Racing with technical help and a back-up car.

Bumping was confirmed once Takuma Sato's Honda entry was announced, so the field could not simply take everyone who applied. Katherine Legge, who had been the only woman in the field in 2023 and 2024, did not return, choosing instead to race in multiple NASCAR events during the Memorial Day weekend. Helio Castroneves made his 25th start, which made him only the fourth driver to reach that mark. The only other drivers to get there were Foyt, Andretti and Unser.

Tony Kanaan, the 2013 winner, was named as Kyle Larson's replacement driver if one was needed. IndyCar officials clarified the replacement procedure, largely in response to the Larson situation at Arrow McLaren. Any replacement first had to complete a refresher test in the same entry, and only small setup changes were permitted. Kanaan was the only driver to take that course. If a replacement drove on race day, the car started from the rear of the grid, 33rd. Each entry was allowed 32 sets of tyres for the event, plus eight more for the open test.

Hybrid power arrives at Indianapolis

The 2025 race was the first at Indianapolis to use hybrid energy recovery systems in the powertrain. The system had been put through an offseason test in October 2024, when eleven teams evaluated it over two days. Palou set the fastest lap of the second day at 224.342 mph, and no incidents were reported.

Practice opened with Will Power quickest on the day, while Alex Palou was fastest on the Wednesday and Kyle Kirkwood held the best no-tow lap on the opening day.