Get to know the field of 33 for the 2025 Indianapolis 500
- Archie O’Reilly
- May 21
- 9 min read
The field is set for the 109th Running of the Indianapolis 500. Ahead of the famed race on May 25th, DIVEBOMB introduces you to each of the 33 drivers in starting order…
Robert Shwartzman (PREMA Racing)
Shwartzman and his PREMA team have never competed on an oval - let alone in the Indy 500. But tipped by many to fail to make the field, the 25-year-old former Ferrari junior driver became the first rookie since 1983 to secure Indy 500 pole as one of Indianapolis’ all-time great stories was written. Write off the debuting driver-team combination at your own peril.
Takuma Sato (Rahal Letterman Lanigan)
At 48 years old, Japanese veteran Sato is bidding for his third Indy 500 crown - his previous two coming on the other two occasions he has started in the top five. Sato’s RLL team rebuilt his car entirely after a crash in testing last month, making his second-place start all the more impressive. Spurred by his motto ‘no attack, no chance’, the Indy-only entrant is box office.
Pato O’Ward (Arrow McLaren)
IndyCar’s most popular driver, O’Ward is the first Mexican-born driver to start on the Indy 500 front row. The 26-year-old hotshot has had his heart broken countless times at the Speedway in his young career, passed on the last lap last year for a second runner-up finish. But this may be the best shot yet for a driver always fighting at the front in the closing laps.
Scott Dixon (Chip Ganassi Racing)
Widely regarded as the greatest driver of the modern era, six-time series champion Dixon will break the all-time IndyCar starts record on Sunday. But despite leading more laps than anyone at the Speedway, the 44-year-old New Zealander is still chasing an elusive second Indy 500 crown after years of anguish following his sole victory in 2008.
Felix Rosenqvist (Meyer Shank Racing)
Rosenqvist has emerged as a real team leader since switching to MSR from Arrow McLaren, where he was in the shadows of O’Ward. Driving a Creed-sponsored machine, the affable 33-year-old Swede is bidding to convert a fourth successive top-10 start at the Speedway into a maiden Indy 500 crown and only second career win in his seventh IndyCar season.
Álex Palou (Chip Ganassi Racing)
Chasing a championship three-peat and fourth title in five years with CGR, Palou headed to Indy with a 97-point lead. With four wins and a second place in five races, the 28-year-old Spaniard is off to the best start to an IndyCar season since 1964. But the generational sixth-year driver feels his career will not be a success without an Indy 500 win.
David Malukas (AJ Foyt Racing)
After missing last year’s Indy 500 through a pre-season injury that saw him dropped from the McLaren stable before racing for the team, Malukas is on a redemption tour. The 23-year-old American has been heavily linked to a drive at the great Team Penske given their alliance with the Foyt team. Qualifying a stellar seventh will have done Malukas no harm.
Christian Lundgaard (Arrow McLaren)
In three seasons with a struggling RLL team at Indy, Lundgaard’s best qualifying result was 28th. But the 23-year-old Dane is emerging as one of the series’ top talents having moved to Arrow McLaren for 2025, taking three successive podiums inside his first four races with his new team. He is starting 20 positions higher than ever before at the Speedway on Sunday.
Marcus Ericsson (Andretti Global)
If not for being passed on the last lap in 2023, former F1 driver Ericsson would have been a back-to-back Indy 500 winner. But since joining Andretti from CGR in 2024, the 34-year-old Swede has been left searching for his best form. He is looking to bounce back at the Speedway after qualifying 32nd and crashing out on the first lap last year.
Scott McLaughlin (Team Penske)
Last year’s pole-sitter on an all-Penske front row, three-time V8 Supercars champion McLaughlin was a pole favourite before a heavy airborne crash in practice before the Fast 12 destroyed his car. The 31-year-old New Zealander, who has emerged as top Penske in only five years as an open-wheel driver, will bid for his first Indy 500 win in a back-up car.
Conor Daly (Juncos Hollinger Racing)
Fan favourite Daly, a native of Indiana, would undoubtedly be one of the most popular Indy 500 winners in history. The 33-year-old is a journeyman of IndyCar racing but is still searching for a maiden victory after 120 races. Daly put in an excellent qualifying effort for the small JHR team and, a frequent leader of laps at Indy, is the ultimate dark horse.
Alexander Rossi (Ed Carpenter Racing)
Winner of the 2016 Indy 500 in memorable fashion as a rookie, five-time F1 starter Rossi is one of the most skilled drivers in the field at the Speedway. After seven years with Andretti and two with Arrow McLaren, the popular 33-year-old American has joined ECR - always strong at Indy - and is searching for a fourth successive Indy 500 top-five finish.
Kyffin Simspson (Chip Ganassi Racing)
At 20 years old, Cayman Islands native Simpson is competing in his second Indy 500 after finishing 21st last year. He suffered an airborne accident in practice on Friday but valiantly qualified on the brink of the top 12. The ever-improving youngster finished 21st in points as a rookie but has already recorded a first top-10 finish and first two top-10 starts in 2025.
Ed Carpenter (Ed Carpenter Racing)
Team owner Carpenter turns attention back to driving in a third entry for his ECR team for the Indy 500. A long-time resident of Indiana, the 44-year-old American is a three-time Indy 500 pole winner but is still searching for a first victory at the Speedway in his 22nd attempt. He has started 205 IndyCar races but stepped back to an oval-only schedule in 2013.
Santino Ferrucci (AJ Foyt Racing)
A divisive character for some, Ferrucci is always one of the most thrilling drivers to watch at Indy. Driving for seven-time IndyCar champion and four-time Indy 500 winner AJ Foyt, the 26-year-old American has one of the most impressive active records at the Speedway, finishing inside the top 10 in each of his six Indy 500 attempts - including third in 2023.
Devlin DeFrancesco (Rahal Letterman Lanigan)
Returning to IndyCar after a year’s hiatus following two years with Andretti, DeFrancesco qualified highest of the three full-time RLL drivers, bucking the recent trend of the team’s full-season drivers fighting just to make the field. The 25-year-old Canadian driver has raced fairly well at the Speedway, finishing 20th and 13th in his two attempts with Andretti.
Sting Ray Robb (Juncos Hollinger Racing)
Sporting unquestionably one of the best names in motorsport, Robb unexpectedly led the third-most laps in last year’s Indy 500 having gone off-strategy. Driving for a third team in three years in IndyCar, the extremely likeable 23-year-old American - a former champion on the IndyCar ladder - is beginning to find his feet in the series.
Christian Rasmussen (Ed Carpenter Racing)
Last year’s highest-finishing rookie in the Indy 500, 24-year-old Rasmussen has some of the boldest racecraft in the field - already getting under the skin of some competitors and spinning twice in practice. The exciting Dane won the premier feeder series championship, Indy NXT, in 2023 and continues to search for consistency in his second year in IndyCar.
Kyle Larson (Arrow McLaren)
Widely regarded as one of the best drivers worldwide, NASCAR superstar Larson - 2021 Cup Series champion and current Cup points leader - is attempting the unprecedented 1100-mile ‘Double’ by running the Indy 500 and NASCAR’s Coca-Cola 600 on the same day. This is a major storyline, with Larson’s first ‘Double’ attempt hampered by rain last year.
Louis Foster (Rahal Letterman Lanigan)
Dominant champion in Indy NXT last year, rookie Foster comfortably qualified for his maiden Indy 500 despite RLL’s recent struggles. The highly-rated 21-year-old Briton has caught the eye early in his IndyCar career, qualifying inside the Fast 12 on three occasions. It is a first IndyCar oval race for Foster, who won every oval race in the top junior series last year.
Callum Ilott (PREMA Racing)
Teammate to the pole-sitter, Ilott comfortably made his fourth Indy 500. The 26-year-old Briton spent two years with the start-up JHR team, finishing a laudable 16th in points in 2023. He spent last year in the World Endurance Championship but stood in at Arrow McLaren in the Indy 500, racing from the rear to 11th after a mechanical issue at the start.
Hélio Castroneves (Meyer Shank Racing)
Castroneves is among an elite group of only four drivers to have won four Indy 500s. Having turned 50 this month and no longer a full-time IndyCar driver, the effervescent Brazilian continues his pursuit to become the first driver to win the Greatest Spectacle in Racing five times. There would likely be no storyline greater than the ‘Drive for Five’ being completed.
Kyle Kirkwood (Andretti Global)
One of the finest talents to roll off the Road to Indy ladder, 26-year-old Kirkwood is the only driver to win a race in 2025 other than Palou. After strong pole hopes, his qualifying was disappointing. But if the American’s two previous attempts with Andretti are anything to go by, he should be able to race his way to the front in his fourth Indy 500.
Nolan Siegel (Arrow McLaren)
After the anguish of being bumped from the field last year with Dale Coyne Racing, 20-year-old Siegel has rebounded and will contest his maiden Indy 500 this weekend. An underdog in the Arrow McLaren team having joined the papaya squad mid-season last year, the Californian has been impressively competitive with his more experienced teammates.
Ryan Hunter-Reay (Dreyer & Reinbold Racing)
Affectionately known as ‘Captain America’, 2014 Indy 500 winner Hunter-Reay may be 44 years old but remains a firm contender at the Speedway. No longer a full-time driver in IndyCar, the 2012 series champion is competing with the plucky DRR team - who only race at Indy year round - for a third year in succession.
Jack Harvey (Dreyer & Reinbold Racing)
Now dovetailing with a role as pit reporter for FOX Sports having found no full-time IndyCar seat for 2025, Harvey is back in the saddle for one race with DRR. The 32-year-old Briton missed last year’s Indy 500, instead opting for a deal that saw him race the majority of the rest of the season for Dale Coyne Racing. DRR are the definitive underdog story.
Colton Herta (Andretti Global)
One of IndyCar’s best, Herta very much appeared a pole contender before suffering a massive airborne crash at Turn 1 on the first lap of his qualifying run. The No.26 machine of the 25-year-old American, who is heavily linked to Cadillac’s F1 effort, was destroyed. But his team heroically built up a back-up car in four hours and Herta incredibly made the field.
Graham Rahal (Rahal Letterman Lanigan)
After two dismal years contesting Last Chance Qualifying to try and make the field of 33, including being bumped in 2023 by teammate Harvey, Rahal finally secured his spot on Saturday this time around - even if by a mere 0.004 mph. The veteran 36-year-old American is searching for a maiden Indy 500 and first race win since 2017.
The drivers making up positions 29th, 30th and 31st were the final three qualifiers after contesting the Last Row Shootout. But penalties for the No.2 and No.12 Team Penske cars - both sent to the rear of the field for a technical violation after making the Fast 12 - means all drivers now starting 11th back were promoted two positions from their qualifying result.
Marco Andretti (Andretti Global)
On the flip side of the Rahal coin, 2020 pole-sitter Andretti - grandson of the great Mario - was forced to fight three other cars for the final three spots in the field. The 38-year-old American, who was runner-up as a rookie in 2006, ultimately made the field with little stress on Bump Day, confirming an appearance in his 20th successive Indy 500.
Marcus Armstrong (Meyer Shank Racing)
Armstrong was another driver set back by a crash - a heavy incident at Turn 1 in practice on the morning of opening qualifying day. His MSR team did an excellent job to build a back-up car but the 24-year-old New Zealander required Last Chance Qualifying to make the field. An engine failure after four laps as a rookie means this is essentially his first Indy 500 race.
Rinus VeeKay (Dale Coyne Racing)
In his five seasons in IndyCar with ECR, VeeKay had qualified no lower than seventh for the Indy 500; he was on the front row in 2021, 2022 and 2023. But his DCR team has lacked pure pace, meaning the 24-year-old Dutchman was forced to fight - and ultimately bump - rookie teammate Jacob Abel for the final spot in the field, finishing over 2 mph adrift of 32nd.
Josef Newgarden (Team Penske)
Two-time defending Indy 500 winner - the first driver back-to-back winner in over 20 years after two last-lap passes - Newgarden is aiming to become the first driver to win the race three times in succession. His race car has looked strong but the 34-year-old American’s task made tougher by being demoted to 32nd. No driver has won from lower than 28th.
Will Power (Team Penske)
Rounding out the order, also denied a top-12 start due to Penske’s infringement, Power is searching for a second Indy 500 crown after winning the race in 2018. The 44-year-old Australian, a long-time Penske driver and two-time series champion, does not yet have a contract for 2025, meaning a second Indy 500 victory would be even more meaningful.
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