Marcus Ericsson, who finished second to Alex Palou in Sunday’s Indianapolis 500, and Andretti Global teammate Kyle Kirkwood were penalized and moved to the back of the 33-car finishing order after post-race inspections revealed unapproved modifications to their vehicles.
Ericsson and Kirkwood, who finished sixth on Sunday, were each forced to forfeit both their prize money and championship points earned during Sunday’s race. Although each will receive the money and points for finishing in 31st (Ericsson) and 32nd (Kirkwood), respectively. Ericsson and Kirkwood’s teams were each fined $100,000, and the competition managers for both have been suspended for the upcoming race on the streets of Detroit.
These penalties come after IndyCar’s inspection process has faced a lot of backlash. The Team Penske Chevrolets of two-time Indy 500 winner Josef Newgarden and 2018 winner Will Power were found to be using illegal modifications as well prior during qualifying last week. While both Newgarden and Power were still allowed to compete in Sunday’s race, they were forced to start in the rear of the pack.
Were Ericsson and Kirkwood’s cars the only ones penalized?
No. Callum Illott’s No. 90 car also failed post-race inspection. Prema Racing failed to meet the minimum endplate height and location, and thusly suffered the same penalties as Andretti Global. Illott finished 12th in the race, but will now be labeled as the last-place finisher.
Who is Marcus Ericsson?
Marcus Ericsson is a 34-year-old IndyCar driver from Kumla, Sweden. He won the 2022 Indianapolis 500 and finished runner-up in 2023 to Josef Newgarden.
Ericsson is currently in his seventh season in the NTT IndyCar Series and his second driving for Andretti Global. He spent his first season competing for Schmidt Peterson Motorsports before moving to Chip Ganassi Racing in 2020, driving for the team for four seasons. He found great success with Ganassi, winning four races, including the 2022 Indy 500, and scoring nine podium finishes.
After being stripped of his runner-up finish in the 2025 Indy 500, his best finish this season is a sixth-place finish at the season-opening street-course race in St. Petersburg, Florida.
Prior to joining the IndyCar season in 2019, Ericsson spend five seasons in Formula One but raced for struggling teams. He raced in 2014 for Caterham F1 Team before moving to Sauber F1 Team for four seasons.
When is the next IndyCar series race?
The Detroit Grand Prix is scheduled for Sunday, June 1, at the Detroit Street Circuit. The 100-lap race is scheduled for 12:30 p.m. ET.
The competition managers for both Andretti Global and Prema Racing have been suspended for this race.
