The former Indy 500 winner found himself in the lead as laps ticked down — and lapped traffic got into the mix

It looked like Ryan Hunter-Reay might be heading to a second career Indy 500 victory as he was pacing the field past the halfway point of the race. With 30 laps to go, however, he stalled out in the pits and fell all the way to last place among the drivers still out on the track.

Marcus Ericsson was visibly distraught after narrowly losing out on victory at the Indy 500 to Alex Palou. The Swedish driver was overtaken by Palou during the final moments of the race.

With 13 laps to go in the 2025 Indianapolis 500, Alex Palou made his move, passing Marcus Ericsson for the lead amid traffic ahead of them and ultimately winning his first Indy 500. Ericsson — the 2022 Indy 500 winner who was among eight past Indy 500 champions in Sunday's 109th race — finished second by 0.6822 seconds.

Spain's Alex Palou held off Sweden's Marcus Ericsson over the final laps to win the 109th Indianapolis 500 on Sunday and capture his first oval triumph. Palou became the first Spaniard to reach Victory Lane after 200 laps over the famed Indianapolis Motor Speedway oval and made his breakthrough in his 29th oval start.

Following the end of "The Greatest Spectacle in Racing," cameras caught Ericsson, a former Formula 1 driver, visibly upset after losing the 2025 Indy 500. Ericsson's career has seen a transition from Formula 1, where he drove for Caterham briefly before racing for Sauber from 2015 to 2018, to a successful stint in IndyCar.

Marcus Ericsson expects to be haunted by what-might-have-beens after a chance at a second Indy 500 win was lost to Alex Palou on Sunday.The Andretti driver was leading and had a fuel and tire advantage heading into the final phase of the race,