McLaughlin 3rd Indy500, Armstrong just misses
- 2 minutes ago
- 2 min read
New Zealand driver Scott McLaughlin has finished third in the Indianapolis 500, while countryman Marcus Armstrong lost the lead on the final lap.
Armstrong started 16th on the grid and spent most of the race in the top ten, however he came into contention in the last quarter when pit strategy started to work into his favour.
LATEST HEADLINES:
The 25-year-old took the lead after a restart with seven laps to go before another caution forced the cars to slow.
Armstrong, who has never won an Indycar race, was unable to hold onto the lead on the final lap as Felix Rosenqvist and David Malukas swept past with slipstram advantage and raced to the chequered flag.
The one-lap dash to the checkered flag and immortality was set up when rookie Mick Schumacher brushed the SAFER Barrier in Turn two on Lap 197.
Racing resumed at the end of Lap 199, with Armstrong leading to the flag stand with the white flag in the air and one lap remaining, with Malukas in second and Rosenqvist third. Malukas powered to the lead entering Turn one and pulled away on the backstretch of the 2.5-mile oval with teammates Armstrong and Rosenqvist running side by side in a joust for second.
Rosenqvist, running the high line around the oval, nosed ahead of Armstrong in Turn 4 and set his sights on Malukas. With the checkered flag in the air ahead, Malukas drove his car toward the pit and then moved toward the center of the track, and Rosenqvist quickly swung his machine back toward the top of the racetrack, just barely avoiding contact.
The two cars were side by side yards from the finish line when Rosenqvist nosed ahead and crossed the Yard of Bricks first by about a half-car length, the capacity crowd of 350,000 pulsating in delight.
In the dramatic end to the race McLaughlin came through to grab his best finish in the Indy 500, while Armstrong faded to fifth.
The third New Zealander, Sir Scott Dixon, led during the middle part of the race, but he needed to pit for fuel with a handful of laps remaining and slipped to 15th.
There were a record 17 lead changes during the race and included a complete stop when rain started to fall and Dixon was in front.
Rosenqvist, of Sweden, finished 0.0233 seconds ahead of Malukas, the closest finish in the history of the Indianapolis 500.