Marcus Ericsson’s win at the first-ever Ontario Honda Dealers Indy in Markham came down to two key passes.
Initially, Ericsson and teammate Will Power made contact while he was attempting a late move in Sunday’s race. Then, with just four laps remaining on the street circuit in Markham, Ont., Ericsson overtook Romain Grosjean to secure the lead for his fifth Indy Car victory.
“I think today we won it on pure pace,” said Ericsson, who last triumphed at the 2023 Grand Prix of St. Petersburg. “We had the best car out there, and we succeeded because we strategized well and executed when it mattered.”
“That felt really good.”
Grosjean finished second, marking his first top-five result of the season. Power took third place, while championship leader Alex Palou ended up fourth.
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Ericsson, Power, and Kyle Kirkwood – currently second in driver standings – are all part of Andretti Global.
After Kirkwood crashed out during the 53rd lap, the Andretti Global team focused on limiting Palou’s points to prevent him from clinching his fifth Indy Car title.
“We discussed that Marcus has a lot of pace and an advantage with tires and fuel; we needed to challenge Palou,” said team principal Ron Ruzewski. “We’re always considering the bigger picture. Taking points from Alex is crucial to keep Kyle competitive.”
However, things didn’t go exactly as planned when Power inadvertently turned into Ericsson’s car during a pass.
![Click to play video: 'Friday frustrations at Markham’s first Ontario Honda Dealers Indy']()
2:05 Friday frustrations at Markham’s first Ontario Honda Dealers Indy
Ericsson then set his sights on Grosjean, who still hasn’t won an Indy Car race since moving over from Formula One in 2021. Grosjean had been defending against Palou for most of the race but found himself low on fuel with worn tires as well.
“Towards the end of the race I knew we’d need about 37 laps worth of tire and fuel; that was going to be tough,” stated Grosjean. “When I saw car No. 28 (Ericsson) pit, I thought there was no way he could catch us since No. 10 (Palou) was behind me-always a concern-so I thought we were safe.”
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“Next thing I knew, No. 28 was right behind me.”
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Get daily Canada news delivered to your inbox so you’ll never miss the day’s top stories. “It was miscommunication because the team came on and said, ‘Marcus is really quick; he’s coming.’ I said, ‘OK, tell him I’ll let him go on the back straight so I can stay close to Palou,’” explained Power. “He didn’t get the message quickly enough or at all.” “I didn’t even check my mirror. I just turned. At that moment I was frustrated since we lost some ground but ultimately we finished where we would have anyway, so it was fine.” Palou gained 32 points on Sunday while Kirkwood earned nine after his early exit. Palou now leads Kirkwood by 133 points in the overall standings. Story continues below
2:05 Friday frustrations at Markham’s first Ontario Honda Dealers Indy
Ericsson then set his sights on Grosjean, who still hasn’t won an Indy Car race since moving over from Formula One in 2021. Grosjean had been defending against Palou for most of the race but found himself low on fuel with worn tires as well.
“Towards the end of the race I knew we’d need about 37 laps worth of tire and fuel; that was going to be tough,” stated Grosjean. “When I saw car No. 28 (Ericsson) pit, I thought there was no way he could catch us since No. 10 (Palou) was behind me-always a concern-so I thought we were safe.”
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“Next thing I knew, No. 28 was right behind me.”Additionally, despite needing to manage resources carefully in his car, passing Grosjean wasn’t going to be straightforward for Ericsson.
Story continues below “It’s still tricky-very tight near those walls-and you can’t predict how he’ll defend,” remarked Ericsson. “With my edge in speed, I wanted to pass him immediately because you never know if there’s a caution flag or if we’ll have a restart-anything can change.”Kyle Foster had been fastest during practice and qualifying and secured his first pole position this season.
Predicting chaos before racing started Foster had mentioned that there might be “carnage” along Markham’s challenging course spanning 12 turns across its 3.52-kilometer layout connecting Kennedy Road with Enterprise Boulevard through Unionville GO tracks near Highway 407.
This prediction proved accurate as Foster encountered trouble early in Sunday’s race; he crashed into an inside wall after passing Ericsson before smashing nose-first into an outer wall at Turn 3 during Lap 43.
The race featured six cautions total as four cars were knocked off course due to collisions-11 out of 25 participants did not finish. This marks Markham’s inaugural year hosting Canada’s only Indy Car event after relocating from Toronto’s Exhibition Place where races occurred since ’86. Practice sessions plus qualifying scheduled for Friday were canceled due incomplete track work preventing final safety checks. Consequently both practices along with qualifications happened Saturday alongside USF2000 Championship competitors while USF Pro2000 Radical Cup Canada NASCAR Series also aimed completing their training weekends utilizing that same circuit. “I think Friday wasn’t ideal obviously but once yesterday kicked off everything went great throughout this weekend,” noted Ericsson stating all racers enjoyed driving around this newly designed track layout adding how supportive fans created excellent atmosphere surrounding events here too! “It always poses challenges during initial year stages however I’m confident when returning next year operations will run much more smoothly.”& copy ;2026 The Canadian Press
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