It took a bit of bad luck that Alex Palou couldn’t overcome, but it also took a race-winning drive by Christian Lundgaard for him to capture the victory Saturday on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course.
A caution flag that came out near the end of a green-flag pit cycle had Palou pitting from the lead and restarting near the rear of the field. He never fully recovered, as he finished fifth behind Lundgaard, David Malukas, Graham Rahal and Josef Newgarden.
Lundgaard had eight podium finishes since joining Arrow McLaren at the start of the 2025 season, finishes that spurred him to make a daring pass on Malukas with 18 laps remaining to take the lead and motor to his second career victory.
“At the end of the day, I had nothing to lose,” Lundgaard said at his post-race news conference. “I finish second? Okay, that’s fine, but I have so much unfinished business here.
“For me, I wanted to win. I have enough second places in the past year and a half. I wanted a win. I was kind of willing to do what it took. I also knew that it was going to be respectful.”
Here are my takeaways:
1: Big Win For Lundgaard
Lundgaard put it simply after the race:
“I know the task I was hired to do, and that’s to win races,” Lundgaard said.
That’s why this one was so big, especially at a time when Palou has been so dominant.
“I’ve had the question many times, ‘When is it going to come, right?’” Lundgaard said. “We’ve come so close many times. How does it feel being on the podium when the 10 car [of Palou] keeps being the guy that wins?
“In many ways, I live to win races. I don’t live to finish second. I don’t live to just be in the race. I think that’s how I was always taught growing up. I don’t just compete to compete. I compete to win.”
Lundgaard admitted that he hates losing more than he loves winning.
“He fears losing a lot more than anything else,” said team principal Tony Kanaan.
2: Seeing Red Over No Yellow
Some would say it was bad luck for Palou when the caution came out on Lap 21 for Alexander Rossi, whose car sat on the frontstretch for a long time under a local yellow before INDYCAR threw a full-course caution.
But Palou could have come down pit road when it was a local yellow and it appeared that INDYCAR would call for a full-course caution.
Rossi was livid and actually got out of his car before the full-course caution was thrown, which INDYCAR appeared to try to wait to throw so that the pit-stop cycle could be completed.
“The fact that it took that long to throw a full-course yellow when a car is on the front straight and people are going by 170 miles an hour also seems insane,” Rossi said on the FOX telecast.
3. David Malukas Can Be Happy
Malukas didn’t have much to defend Lundgaard when Lundgaard passed him for the lead. Still searching for his first career victory, Malukas would take solace in second, another solid day as he now sits third in the standings.
“We’re good friends, and it was fantastic racing,” Malukas said in his postrace news conference. “You know, I could be a little bit more aggressive and push him wide, whatever, but I think it was fair racing, and he made a proper move.
“At a certain point there’s also, I think, some skill in racing to know when you’ve lost a spot.”
4. Grosjean-Armstrong Beef
Romain Grosjean approached Marcus Armstrong after the race and had to be held back by the Meyer Shank Racing team. The two appeared to have a discussion afterward.
Armstrong, speaking to FOX Sports pit reporter Kevin Lee, said he had a crew willing to back him up.
“He fancied a bit of a fistfight, actually — a bit of UFC, a bit of MMA,” Armstrong said. “It’s something I’m not accustomed to. I have a 350-pound fueler who was right behind me.”
4 ½: What’s Next
The greatest day in motorsports, and arguably all of sports, is just two weeks away. Practice for the Indianapolis 500 begins Tuesday with qualifying next Saturday and Sunday.
What does that race mean? Well, it certainly can change the trajectory of a driver’s career in an instant.
