Àlex Palou (Chip Ganassi) finished his fourth participation in the Indianapolis 500 in fourth position, which had a new champion: the American Josef Newgarden beat Marcus Ericsson on the same finish line, who was very close to revalidating the title of the 2022.
The Catalan pilot, who started from pole position (the first Spaniard in history to do so) after having given the fastest lap in the competition's more than 100 years, once again encountered misfortune in the 500 Miles.
The man from Sant Antoni de Vilamajor kept first place at the start, led intermittently until lap 50 of the 200, but on lap 95, when he was 6th, he was attacked by Rinus Veekay at the pit exit. The accident dropped the Catalan to 25th place, forcing him to come back.
In the following 110 laps, Àlex Palou was able to recover positions, climbing to 9th place (v. 150), 6th (v. 188), and finishing 4th, avoiding numerous mishaps, up to three red flags , in the rough final stretch of the mythical endurance test.
Fourth place allows Palou to maintain his lead in the Indycar championship (of which the 500-mile race is a part).
The outcome of the 2023 500 could not be more exciting... and interrupted. Up to three red flags in the final section stopped the race. With 9 laps to go, Newgarden was leading ahead of Ericsson, O'Ward, Rossi, Ferrucci and Palou.
An accident by O'Ward caused another red flag. The finish was played over just two restarted laps, with Palou gaining a position overtaking Rossi, and Newgarden beating Ericsson by just 97 thousandths of a second in a thrilling sprint.
It is the first 500 win for the 32-year-old American, a native of Nashville.
