Rain began to fall an hour and a half before the green flag was set to drop at 2:45am AEST and subsided for the driver intros.

However, the rain returned just as the command for drivers to head to their cars was made.

IndyCar delayed the call to fire engines, announcing a 10-minute engine warm-up period due to the delay.

At the time of writing, rain continues to fall at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

There are implications for Larson, who needs the delay not to last longer than 45 minutes so he can attempt the 1100-mile double across Indianapolis and Charlotte Motor Speedway.

Larson is scheduled to fly out of Indianapolis Motor Speedway in the immediate aftermath of the Indianapolis 500 to race in the Coca-Cola 600 with Hendrick Motorsports.

Tony Kanaan is on standby should Larson ditch Indianapolis. The NASCAR champion is prioritising his commitments in the Cup Series over IndyCar.

“I think I’ve never thought I’d experience two pressures. One is to maybe hop in the car and the other is to help run four cars,” said Kanaan, who is the McLaren team principal.

“Hopefully, it looks like it’s going to break out. We want Kyle to do the 1100 miles, but if not, I guess I’m ready to do it (the Indianapolis 500.

“We’re going to play it by ear. He has to leave at like 4:07pm (local time) so we still have time. Mr H (Rick Hendrick) is here. If he takes the green flag, it’s over for me or anybody.

“Hopefully, that’s what is going to happen. The deadline to leave? It’s up to us to decide if it gets too late that he’s not going to do that many laps, and they want me to go up in the car – I’ll be ready to go.”

Race control announced it expected engines to fire at 1:21pm local time (3:21am AEST).

How will this delay impact Kyle Larson and his attempt at the #Indy500 & Coca-Cola 600 double? @TonyKanaan is with @KevinLee23. pic.twitter.com/4vomq3murM

— INDYCAR on FOX (@IndyCarOnFOX) May 25, 2025