The overarching story of the 2025 IndyCar season was Álex Palou’s overwhelming dominance. Despite his unchallenged charge to take his fourth championship, plenty of drama happened throughout the year. From hospital visits and big crashes to questionable stewarding and even disqualifications, 2025 kept viewers on the edge of their seats. As we prepare for the upcoming season, let’s rewind and take a look at the five most dramatic moments of last year.
5. An Opening to Remember
The 2025 season opener was not one to forget. After only a couple of corners, a full-course caution came out. Coming around a blind corner, Will Power collided with Nolan Siegel, spinning him around. With the Team Penske and Arrow McLaren drivers coming together, rookie Louis Foster was also caught up through no fault of his own.
Whilst all three drivers were okay, it was a disappointing start to the year for the trio. Unfortunately, for Power, it was the start of a struggle season. The early caution caused teams to rethink their race strategy—and an early switch to the alternate strategy would provide Álex Palou with the win.
With a dramatic moment marking the start of the 2025 season, it was a glimpse of what was to come.
4. Pitlane Drama for Ferrucci
Santino Ferrucci saw his fair share of drama last year. From crashes to disqualifications, the American was going all out. One of his most dramatic—yet confusing—moments came at the Milwaukee Mile weekend. Just five minutes into final practice, Ferrucci hit Devlin DeFrancesco as he left his pit box.
Whilst the contact was minimal, it had a big impact, with both cars gaining suspension damage. Race control handed Ferrucci a 20-minute stop-and-hold penalty for the collision, where he’d be held in his pit box, unable to run in the final part of qualifying.
Ferrucci was able to recover during the race, but the strange incident raised eyebrows. How did it even happen?
3. Questionable Cautions
Following the Lap 1 caution at St. Petersburg, there was an abundance of green-flag running in the first half of the season. However, that changed as the season progressed. The Monterey race saw five caution periods, but two stood out for all the wrong reasons.
The third caution was prompted by Kyle Kirkwood hitting Rinus VeeKay. With VeeKay beached and unable to move, race control waited an entire lap before setting a caution. Laps later, Marcus Ericsson spun on the entry to the infamous Corkscrew corner, getting beached on the blind entry. Three racing laps ensued before race control cautioned the race.
These delays prompted questions from drivers and fans alike, especially Ericsson’s. Some came on their radios, demanding caution due to safety concerns. Luckily, no issues arose, but the uncommon delays gave an unwanted type of drama—the tense, unsafe kind.
2. Indy 500 Disqualifications
The historic Indianapolis 500 provides undeniable action each year. In 2025, one of the main focal points ahead of the race came from Team Penske. All three drivers made it to the Fast 12 Shootout for pole, but Scott McLaughlin withdrew after a crash in warm-up. Following this, rival team Chip Ganassi Racing accused Penske of cheating. IndyCar took this allegation seriously, bringing the remaining cars of Josef Newgarden and Power back to the garages and inspecting the cars.
With both cars failing inspection due to a body fit violation on the rear attenuator, Newgarden and Power were disqualified from qualifying. Consequently, they would start the race at P32 and P33. Due to McLaughlin not partaking, officials did not inspect his car for this violation and allowed him to start from P12.
The dramatic moment highlighted the issues that Team Penske faced throughout the year. But they weren’t the only drivers to face a disqualification. Post-race inspections deemed the no. 27 and 28 cars (Ericsson and Kirkwood) to have EMS modifications. Subsequently, the Andretti pair was disqualified from the race. New team Prema Racing failed a front wing assembly inspection, causing the no. 90 of Callum Ilott to also be disqualified. With five disqualifications across the entire event, this was the most that the Indy 500 has ever seen.
1. Red Flags and The Champion Out in Detroit
Detroit saw the first red flag of the season and, with an unexpected podium roster, was one of the most dramatic races in the 2025 season.
Five caution periods and a red flag kept the field bunched up, providing action, overtakes, and plenty of discussion points. When the field went green on Lap 73, David Malukas hit championship leader Palou. In a shocking turn of events, Palou was forced to retire from the race. Kirkwood went on to take his second win of the season, bringing the gap down to 90 points and hinting at a potential title battle.
But the champion retiring wasn’t the only drama in Detroit. Mere laps after this incident, Foster suffered a front suspension failure. Crashing into the wall, he collected Felix Rosenqvist on his way into the run-off area. Initially, this was cautioned as the medical team attended to the duo, but extensive damage was done to the tyre barrier, and so a red flag was called. Although Rosenqvist complained about his leg and left the track on a stretcher, after examinations, both were deemed medically fit.
The 2025 IndyCar season was filled with drama from start to end, and no one was safe. As we look ahead to the upcoming 2026 season, what will unfold throughout the year? With three new rookies set to debut, old drivers with new teams, and drivers ready to usurp Palou, there’s sure to be plenty more dramatic IndyCar moments to keep fans entertained.