NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
IndyCar star Pato O’Ward sounded off about the Indianapolis 500 after Alex Palou passed Marcus Ericsson with 14 laps to go to win the race for the first time in his career.
The Arrow McLaren driver took issue with the lack of fight from Ericsson when Palou passed him for the lead late in the race, as well as how some of the restarts took place.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON FOXNEWS.COM
Arrow McLaren driver Pato O’Ward, #5, claps Sunday, May 25, 2025 ahead of the 109th running of the Indianapolis 500 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. (Grace Hollars/IndyStar / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images)
“Pretty crap race I would say. Just kinda sucks that it went down to — the switcheroo was for the last position of the race and Ericsson actually kinda choked there and let Palou by and just kind of … he just had to pedal it there,” he told FOX Sports. “I don’t think it’s a finish anybody here woulda wanted to see.
“I just feel like there was a bunch of non-experience in the front of the restarts and some of those restarts were pathetic. Those were not of the level that we should be seeing at the Indy 500. It just felt like we were playing roulette in a casino and picking outside or inside and just depending on what everyone else was choosing you either got screwed or you made like 10 positions.”
TOM BRADY TAKES INDY 500 LAP WITH JIMMIE JOHNSON BEFORE RACE BEGINS
Arrow McLaren SP driver Pato O’Ward, #5, races during the 109th Running of the Indianapolis 500 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Indianapolis on May 25, 2025. (Marc Lebryk-Imagn Images)
O’Ward finished in fourth place after starting the race in third.
“We got hosed there a couple times but we made it back up a little bit after being a bit more in the middle,” he said. “I fought my way as hard as I could.”
There were 44 laps run under caution, starting from the very beginning as rain plagued part of the race and then started with a Scott McLaughlin crash before the green flag waves.
On the first green-flag lap, Marco Andretti crashed into the wall.
Alex Palou is joined by his wife Esther Valle, right, and daughter Lucia in kissing the Yard of Bricks on the start/finish line after winning the Indianapolis 500 auto race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Indianapolis on Sunday, May 25, 2025. (AP Photo/AJ Mast)
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
However, the race featured 22 lead changes among 14 drivers. It was Palou who ended up in the winner’s circle by the time the race was over.
Follow Fox News Digital’s sports coverage on X, and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.
