How fatherhood surged pressure-free Rosenqvist to Indianapolis 500 victory
- Dan Jones
- 3 hours ago
- 7 min read
Little did Felix Rosenqvist know that when he woke up on Sunday morning, he could be the feature of the next episode of the popular TV show Mythbusters.
"Myth busted, as Adam Savage would say."
The myth that Rosenqvist was busting? That drivers lose two-tenths of a second for every child they have.
It was an important myth to bust, as those two tenths of a second were the difference between eternal motorsport glory for Rosenqvist and the most devastating of heartbreaks.
Sunday, May 24th was the moment Rosenqvist had been dreaming of the entirety of his motorsport career, and yet his new-born daughter Stella, just 20 days old at the time, had no understanding of the feat that her father had accomplished.
"It's interesting. It [fatherhood] unlocks something in you for sure that you never had before," Rosenqvist reflects. "I come home at night and I'm the happiest man - when I crashed with Pato [O'Ward] at the Indy GP, I didn't really care. It was definitely a turning point for me."
For many, an Indianapolis 500 title is the ultimate prize. For Rosenqvist, it was the cherry on the cake on the very memorable May: "When we had our baby, that was the most incredible moment of my life. Everything after that was like, everything else is just a bonus, and not only in May but in life.
"Which is actually kind of a nice mindset to have, because you take more pressure off your shoulders, and in a way, you become more focused and thinking about the right stuff. I think it turned out to be a good thing for me to become a dad."
Rosenqvist's climb to the peak of the IndyCar mountain has not been an easy one. After winning the highly-rated FIA Formula 3 European Championship in 2015, he struggled to find a permanent racing home until his arrival in IndyCar with Chip Ganassi Racing in 2019. He made an immediate impact in the series, claiming Rookie of the Year on his way to sixth in the standings, before earning his maiden victory at Road America the following season.
That earned Rosenqvist a big opportunity at Arrow McLaren in 2021 where he was expected to help establish the team alongside the likes of Team Penske and Ganassi at the top of the IndyCar ladder. That expectation fell very flat after a difficult first year with the team, where he finished just 21st in points with two top 10 finishes.
Although 2022 was better, Rosenqvist was on the chopping block when McLaren wanted to sign his Ganassi successor Álex Palou to replace the Swede once again. Once he was awkwardly kept for 2023 after Palou's contractual dispute, it was clear that his home was no longer at McLaren and that pastures new were required for Rosenqvist to re-vitalise his career.
After a 2023 season where Meyer Shank Racing (MSR) had only earned one top 10 finish, Mike Shank had one requirement when picking his new driver. Speed. Despite the difficult times, it was clear that speed was something Rosenqvist still had in his arsenal and after seeing Rosenqvist take pole at Laguna Seca in 2023, just days after signing for MSR, Shank knew he had the right driver.
Rosenqvist's impact was immediate. Four top 10 finishes in his first four races, in addition to a podium at the non-championship $1 Million Challenge provided MSR their best run of form in their history. Although results tailed off towards the end of the season, Rosenqvist had given the team their best ever finish in the standings and had changed the expectation surrounding the team.
But more importantly for the Swede, for the first time in his IndyCar career, he was the centrepiece of an organisation, which has since seen the team who had one top 10 finish in an entire season become race-winning contenders week-in, week-out in the space of just three years.
"It's been an incredible journey together," Rosenqvist reflects on his journey with MSR. "Mike touched on it that when he signed me, he needed someone with speed: 'That's literally all I require from you is to be fast, and the rest we'll figure out along the road'. That's kind of what it's been. Obviously have been a bit of a Saturday man in this series and still am probably, but this year, something definitely changed.
"We're able to be up there and fight for wins. We've been working a lot on that, and honestly never, ever have they put pressure on me, which is probably the first time in any team I've been. Let's say you have a crash or you have a bad day, you have a bad call with your team boss. But Mike and Jim [Meyer], they've never, ever done that. I've had some pretty rough days with them and some really good days, but every time I talk to them, they're like: 'You got this, you're great, you're as good as any of these drivers'. You feel very welcomed and like inside a family when you have that relationship."
There's an irony about Rosenqvist's win for MSR too. Despite all their competitiveness in recent seasons, it marks only their second victory as a team, the other being the 2021 Indianapolis 500 with Hélio Castroneves, who himself now holds an ownership role within the team. Like Castroneves' victory day, Rosenqvist's Indianapolis fate was not sealed until the final moments, where he pipped David Malukas to the line by 0.023 seconds in the closest Indianapolis 500 finish of all time.
It was a miraculous final lap for Rosenqvist, who started the one-lap shootout in third place and had resigned to the fact he would come up just short when exiting Turn 4.
"I thought I was second, to be honest. I was like 'this sucks, now we're second in the 500. I guess it was a good day; we did what we could'. I thought I didn't have it, and then I shifted up, and it was just kind of sucking up to David, and it was just enough to get me over the finish line half a foot ahead of him. It was just so cool. I'll watch it a million times."
Rosenqvist has often been in the picture for victory, but when push came to shove in the closing moments, he has rarely been a factor and yet it was the scenario Rosenqvist had over-and-over in his mind: "That's the way I've always pictured it in my head. It was almost like muscle memory when it happened because I've been dreaming about that last lap move."
When the green and white flags were shown together on the start of Lap 200, it had seemed destined for a shootout between young guns Malukas and Marcus Armstrong for victory. Rosenqvist quickly became part of the picture as he bravely held the high line around Armstrong between Turn 1 and the exit of Turn 4 before beating Malukas at the line.
"It's still kind of a blur. I had that momentum going, and I was like, 'I'm going to go on the high line, and I'm not going to ruin this momentum. If someone comes in the way, that's it'. But no one did, and I was able to stay on the high lane through the whole thing, and I was getting a side draft at the same time."
Such a bold move around the outside for an entire lap would never be attempted in usual circumstances, but it is the ultimate risk drivers pay for Indianapolis 500 glory, which was instrumental in Rosenqvist's decision making in his 200th tour of the oval on Sunday.
"It worked out perfectly that David was the perfect distance ahead to give me a little tow because, if he was closer, I probably would have just sat on his gearbox over the finish line. This year we talked a lot, what does it really take to really do it. I felt I had more confidence today. I think that was the difference, and the hunger to do it. I think that's what it takes here to win it. You need to be ready to risk it all on the last lap. If it ended in the fence, I think I would have been proud for my run. That's the way you have to approach it."
It was an eloquent description to Rosenqvist's desire to win, but as he also put it: "I'll definitely say the balls arrived when they needed to."
"It's hard to explain that feeling, that you want it so much and you have so much adrenaline that you literally don't care if you're going to crash. You're just going all in."
After drinking the milk and kissing the bricks, a week-long media tour begins for Rosenqvist who will travel to New York City ahead of IndyCar's next race in Detroit. It is seen as a tiring week for many who get little rest before they have to be back out on track on Friday for practice in the Motor City. For Rosenqvist, it is quite the opposite.
"I'm going to sleep great because I don't have to wake up and change diapers at 4:00 a.m. so it's going to be like vacation for me." And is Rosenqvist worried about his lack of preparation for Detroit? No. In fact, "he couldn't care less".
The peak of the motorsport mountain could not have come at a better time for Rosenqvist. After years of unproven potential in IndyCar, unfulfilled expectations and disappointment, he reaches the heights that all his competitors have dreamed of, in the middle of a contract year where his signature will be up for grabs.
But most importantly, it only adds to a month where an Indianapolis 500 ring was the second-best addition to Rosenqvist's life.
Both wife Emille and baby Stella were not present for Rosenqvist's victory but there was no doubt they were both at the forefront of his mind and Rosenqvist has since planned on how he will greet them both.
"I definitely miss my wife and daughter, I'll go give them a fat kiss later."
"I feel so lucky. It's super hard to describe how it feels, but I'm just so lucky. First, having my daughter. She's healthy, my wife is healthy. I get to be part of this incredible team at Meyer Shank Racing that feels like a family. Yeah, it all happened to me for some reason."
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