Prema Racing’s Robert Shwartzman will start from the pole position after a stunning four-lap average to become the first rookie pole winner since Teo Fabi in 1983.
He’ll start alongside Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing’s Takuma Sato. The last time the Japanese driver began the Indianapolis 500 from the front row in 2020, he won.
Joining them on the front row will be McLaren’s Pato O’Ward, who will want to go one better after finishing second to Team Penske’s Josef Newgarden in 2024.
The 2025 running features eight previous winners including Newgarden (2024), Sato (2017, 2020) Helio Castroneves (2001, 2002, 2009, 2021), Scott Dixon (2008), Ryan Hunter-Reay (2014), Alexander Rossi (2016), Will Power (2018) and Marcus Ericsson (2022). The record for winners in one field is 10, set in 1992.
This year’s race was set to feature four rookies, but Jacob Abel’s absence after being knocked out on Bump Day has reduced that number to three. The rookies are Louis Foster, Nolan Siegel, and Shwartzman.
The lion’s share of the grid is made up of international drivers with 19 representing 13 different countries. There are 15 drivers from the United States.
The 109th Indianapolis 500 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway gets underway at 2:45am AEST on Monday, May 26.
2025 Indianapolis 500 starting grid
| Pos | Driver | Team | Manufacturer |
| Row 1 | |||
| 1 | Robert Shwartzman | Prema Racing | Chevrolet |
| 2 | Takuma Sato | RLL Racing | Honda |
| 3 | Pato O’Ward | Arrow McLaren | Chevrolet |
| Row 2 | |||
| 4 | Scott Dixon | Chip Ganassi Racing | Honda |
| 5 | Felix Rosenqvist | Meyer Shank Racing | Honda |
| 6 | Alex Palou | Chip Ganassi Racing | Honda |
| Row 3 | |||
| 7 | David Malukas | AJ Foyt Racing | Chevrolet |
| 8 | Christian Lundgaard | Arrow McLaren | Chevrolet |
| 9 | Marcus Ericsson | Andretti Global | Honda |
| Row 4 | |||
| 10 | Scott McLaughlin | Team Penske | Chevrolet |
| 11 | Conor Daly | Juncos Hollinger Racing | Chevrolet |
| 12 | Alexander Rossi | Ed Carpenter Racing | Chevrolet |
| Row 5 | |||
| 13 | Kyffin Simpson | Chip Ganassi Racing | Honda |
| 14 | Ed Carpenter | Ed Carpenter Racing | Chevrolet |
| 15 | Santino Ferrucci | AJ Foyt Racing | Chevrolet |
| Row 6 | |||
| 16 | Devlin DeFrancesco | RLL Racing | Honda |
| 17 | Sting Ray Robb | Juncos Hollinger Racing | Chevrolet |
| 18 | Christian Rasmussen | Ed Carpenter Racing | Chevrolet |
| Row 7 | |||
| 19 | Kyle Larson | Arrow McLaren w/ Hendrick | Chevrolet |
| 20 | Louis Foster | RLL Racing | Honda |
| 21 | Callum Ilott | Prema Racing | Chevrolet |
| Row 8 | |||
| 22 | Helio Castroneves | Meyer Shank Racing | Honda |
| 23 | Kyle Kirkwood | Andretti Global | Honda |
| 24 | Nolan Siegel | Arrow McLaren | Chevrolet |
| Row 9 | |||
| 25 | Ryan Hunter-Reay | DRR-Cusick Motorsports | Chevrolet |
| 26 | Jack Harvey | DRR-Cusick Motorsports | Chevrolet |
| 27 | Colton Herta | Andretti Global | Honda |
| Row 10 | |||
| 28 | Graham Rahal | RLL Racing | Honda |
| 29 | Marco Andretti | Andretti Global w/ Curb-Agajanian | Honda |
| 30 | Marcus Armstrong | Meyer Shank Racing | Honda |
| Row 11 | |||
| 31 | Rinus VeeKay | Dale Coyne Racing | Honda |
| 32 | Josef Newgarden | Team Penske | Chevrolet |
| 33 | WIll Power | Team Penske | Chevrolet |
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