‘I had that race and lost it': Marcus Ericsson places second behind Alex Palou at Indy 500

Yahoo

01-06-2025

INDIANAPOLIS — A look of despondence seized Marcus Ericsson's face as he took off his helmet on pit lane after crossing the finish line in the 2025 Indianapolis 500.
Joy and dejection had separated themselves by .68 seconds. That was the time distance between runner-up Ericsson and champion Alex Palou.
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The 34-year-old led with 14 laps remaining before Palou took advantage of an opening entering Turn 1 on Lap 186. Palou maintained his lead, preventing Ericsson from capturing his second Indy 500 in four years after winning in 2022.
'Second is a good result, but here it's not. Here, you got to win. I gave it everything and tried my best, and I'm proud of our effort, but I had that lead. I had that race and lost it,' Ericsson said. 'This race means everything to us. We have the 500 and it's what matters. So, being that close to winning, it's painful because this is what we live for; we put our lives into this.'
Ericsson said he started the race strong and felt comfortable before noticing himself struggling to keep up with other drivers. He credited his team for 'never giving' up and making the necessary changes for a smoother second half of the race in which Ericsson 'felt the car come more to me.'
Ericsson said two lapped cars created dirty air on the closing laps, making it hard for him to overtake Palou. He plans to review footage and evaluate what he could've done differently to navigate the two impeding cars and prevent Palou from overtaking. He admitted that he didn't expect Palou to overtake when he did.
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'Those things you play in your head a million times after the finish line — what you could've done differently,' Ericsson said. 'When you won it once, you know how that feels, and now I've been second twice. Especially the way this played out, it's going to keep me up at night for a while the way I played those last 10 for those lappers. All those questions that I need to try and accept and move on but right now it's pretty tough.'
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Ericsson said his recent success at the oval shows, "I'm pretty good around this place.' While Ericsson acknowledged that it won't be easy not to condemn himself after Sunday's outing, being a strong self-critic will help him learn from this loss.
'I work constantly on the (mental) side of things, but as an athlete, that's what gets me better all the time because I am a very hard critic of myself," Ericsson said. "I try to always learn from what I do so I can do it better. So, I think that's one of my strengths as well. I look at myself and say, 'What could I have done differently before blaming backmarkers (lapped cars)?'"
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For Sunday, however, Ericsson is giving himself grace to lament.
'Today, I'm going to definitely beat myself up and be disappointed about it,' Ericsson said. 'But give me a few days and I'm sure I'll be doing better.'
Ericsson will run in the Detroit Grand Prix on Friday, where he earned his sole podium appearance of 2024 and first IndyCar Series win. Ericsson's history in Detroit indicates he can make up for a self-proclaimed 'disappointing' time in Indianapolis.
'Detroit is my track,' said Ericsson with a smile. 'Detroit usually treats me well.'
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: 2025 Indy 500 results: Marcus Ericsson had race won and lost to Alex Palou