Alex Palou wins his first Indy 500!

With 14 laps to go, Alex Palou overtook Marcus Ericsson (Andretti) to take the lead. The Spanish driver spent the entire race in the top 10, but it was not until the end of the race that he led for the first time of the day. The race ended under caution following the crash of Nolan Siegel (Arrow). McLaren) on the final lap of the race. Palou became the first Spanish rider to win the 500 Miles.

The 109th edition of the Indy 500 began nearly 45 minutes late due to pre-start showers. Rain also fell twice during the race, but never enough for race control to decide to red-flag the lap. Scott McLaughlin (Team Penske) didn't even get to see the green flag, as he spun on the final formation lap before the start. The New Zealander crashed into the wall and was forced to retire.

While the race began under a yellow flag, it was on lap five that the race got underway in earnest, with Robert Shwartzman (Prema Racing) in the lead. Marco Andretti (Andretti) didn't go much further than McLaughlin, also hitting the Turn 1 wall right off the start. Takuma Sato (Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing) led for much of the early part of the race, as two different strategies emerged. Some drivers pitted during the first cautions, thus being able to finish the race with fewer stops.

In addition to the different strategies that converged as the race progressed, this 109th edition was an elimination race. Sato was the first of the leaders to experience major problems, when he stopped under a yellow flag on lap 88. The Japanese driver missed his pit box, sliding too far and losing several seconds. He ultimately finished eleventh. In the same sequence, Alexander Rossi (ECR) retired after his Dallara-Chevrolet caught fire, while Robert Shwartzman also had to retire after hitting mechanics on his way into the pits.

Restarted on lap 110, after further incidents, the race saw two separate packs split, with the leaders including Palou, but also Conor Daly (Juncos Hollinger Racing) and David Malukas (AJ Foyt Racing) on ​​the main strategy, while on the other side, Ryan Hunter-Reay (Dreyer & Reinbold Racing), Marcus Ericsson and Christian Rasmussen (ECR) were the leaders on the alternative strategy.

With the leaders having to save a lot of fuel, their lap times slowed by about two seconds. This allowed Hunter-Reay to stop... and emerge at the front of the race! The 2014 winner then became one of the favorites for victory, while Conor Daly lost everything with less than forty laps to go. The local rider suffered significant damage to his right-rear tire, losing several positions.

Ryan Hunter-Reay also suffered a bout of bad luck in his final stop with 31 laps to go, stalling on the restart. This gave Malukas the lead ahead of Palou, while Ericsson remained on the track. The Swede used the extra laps to good effect, as he was able to make his stop and restart ahead of the other leaders. The Andretti driver seemed poised for his second Indy 500 victory before Palou's decisive pass.

Starting 32nd, Josef Newgarden (Team Penske) was well on his way to winning for a third consecutive year, but he was forced to retire with a mechanical problem with 65 laps to go. Meanwhile, Kyle Larson (Arrow McLaren), who was attempting the Indy 500/Coca-Cola 600 "Double Duty" once again, almost had to retire before the race. The race got underway just in time for him to stay in Indianapolis, but a crash on lap 109 ended his chances of finishing both races, allowing him to fly to Charlotte, North Carolina.

In the championship, Alex Palou now has a 118-point lead over his closest rival before the next round, next Sunday in Detroit.

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