He finished second in the racing classic after a thrilling final struggle. The Swede, who won the competition in 2022 and became second the following year, took the lead with about 25 of the 200 laps remaining, but when 14 laps remained, he was passed by the Spaniard Álex Palou.
From there, the hunt began. Ericsson tried and tried, but never got past and had to settle for second place.
"Frustrating"
When he got past me, I did everything I could to overtake him again. It's so frustrating when I had this race. It's tough to let it go, says Ericsson in Viaplay.
This is the second time I finish second here and this is a place where almost everything is about the winner. So it's very tough.
Palou became the first Spaniard to win the Indianapolis 500.
I can't believe it. What an incredible race, it's fantastic to win, says Álex Palou in the victory interview in Viaplay.
Rosenqvist fifth
If Marcus Ericsson had won, he would have become the first Swede to take home the classic race twice. When he won Indy 500 in 2022, he became the second blue-yellow driver in history to win. Kenny Bräck became the first in 1999.
I'm very proud of the team, it was really tough and the car was very difficult to handle. But we fought on and tried to get into the race. We showed what we can even though it's tough to be second. At the same time, I'm happy for Alex's sake.
Felix Rosenqvist was also in the tight struggle and made sure there were two Swedes among the top five. Rosenqvist finished fifth.
Indianapolis 500, often abbreviated to Indy 500, is one of the really classic racing competitions and is part of motorsport's "Triple Crown", where the other races are Le Mans 24-hour and Monaco's GP. Briton Graham Hill is the one who has managed to win all three.
The name comes from the fact that the competition measures, nearly 805 kilometers. It corresponds to 200 laps on Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Indiana, USA.
Two Swedes have won the race throughout history. Kenny Bräck became the first in 1999 and Marcus Ericsson copied the feat in 2022.
