Ericsson loses Indy 500 runner-up finish after failing inspection

Credit: Amber Pietz

Marcus Ericsson has been stripped of his runner-up finish in the 109th Running of the Indianapolis 500 after his No.28 Andretti Global machine failed post-race technical inspection.

AJ Foyt Racing’s David Malukas has now been promoted to second - a joint-career-best result propelling him into the top 10 of the standings - and Arrow McLaren’s Pato O’Ward to third.

The No.27 Andretti car of Kyle Kirkwood and No.90 PREMA Racing entry of Callum Ilott also failed inspection and have lost their results of sixth and 12th place respectively.

All three drivers have been moved to the rear of the classification in order of finishing position in the unofficial race results, meaning Ericsson is 31st, Kirkwood 32nd and Ilott 33rd. Each driver will still earn five championship points, as per their new finishing positions.

Prize money now also corresponds to the altered results. Each of the offending cars has also received a $100,000 fine and the team managers for each entry have been handed one-race suspensions for next weekend’s IndyCar Detroit Grand Prix.

Teams are able to contest the penalties.

The pair of Andretti entries were found to have illegal modifications to the Dallara-supplied Energy Management System (EMS) covers and cover-to-A-arm mounting points with unapproved spacers and parts. EMS covered must be used as supplied.

The modifications led to the capability for improved aerodynamic efficiency on both Andretti cars.

“We are in receipt of the Indianapolis 500 post-race penalty notice as provided by IndyCar,” a statement from the Andretti team read. “We are taking the necessary time to assess the information and we will be requesting a full review with IndyCar.”

Credit: Chris Jones

Meanwhile, PREMA were found to have failed to meet the minimum endplate height and location specification on Ilott’s front wing during routine inspection, hence the Briton’s loss of the rookie team’s best IndyCar result to date in their maiden oval race.

“While the same wing was completely original, successfully passed tech multiple times throughout the month and the issue didn't lead to any performance gain, the car ended up being non compliant with the rules at the end of the race, so the team accepts full responsibility,”a PREMA said.

“The team is currently investigating the root of the problem, which can involve incidents and fitment or production issues. We look forward to implementing the needed procedures to ensure improved control and avoid these kinds of issues in the future.”

Ericsson has dropped from 10th to 20th in the championship standings as a result of the penalties. The 2022 Indy 500 winner lost the lead of Sunday’s Indy 500 to eventual winner Álex Palou with 14 laps remaining, achieving what was at the time a second runner-up finish at the Speedway and his best result for Andretti.

Kirkwood, the only non-Palou race winner in 2025, has fallen from third to fifth and is now 150 points back from the championship leader. Ilott remains in 26th.

This move from IndyCar comes one week after Team Penske’s Josef Newgarden and Will Power being moved to the rear of the starting field for illegal modification of their attenuators, which was determined to be a safety violation with negligible, if any, performance gain.

The offending Penske entries were also fined $100,000 last week, with their strategists suspended. Penske later took the move to relieve team president Tim Cindric, managing director Ron Ruzewski and general manager Kyle Moyer of their duties.