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Marcus Ericsson Claims First IndyCar Markham Street Race Win with Late Move on Romain Grosjean
Arjun Pillai | August 17, 2026 4:41 PM CST

Andretti Global came close to locking out the podium at the Ontario Honda Dealers Indy at the Markham Street race, but in the end had to settle for victory and third place as Marcus Ericsson finally secured his first win with the team.

Romain Grosjean was firmly in front after the final sequence of caution periods. With 18 laps left, Alex Palou, who had started outside the top ten for the first time since 2024, was charging forward. At his nearest, Palou managed to line up a move on Grosjean, but made a slight error, and from that point it became clear his tyres were not holding up to the same extent as Grosjean’s at the front.

At the same time, Will Power was running in third and closing on Palou, while his team-mate Ericsson, who had stopped later than any other driver in order to have maximum fuel for an all-out attack at the finish, was one place behind. Ericsson rejoined in ninth before his final stint.

“I felt like we were the fastest car all day,” Ericsson told IndyCar on Fox. “But then obviously there were a lot of yellows, so we had to stay out because I wanted to show the pace and try and open that gap and not drop back into the back of the field. So we were just scrambling on staying out, and I had the pace, and we were lapping so quickly. Then obviously coming out sixth, seventh or whatever, it was a lot of work to get through these leaders, and fortunately I had a bit of a touch-up with Will; you never want that, but I had to get forward because I knew I could win this race.”

The Andretti drivers closed in on the slower Palou through a corner, but both ran wide while trying to complete the move, resulting in significant contact between them. Inside the car, Power was briefly furious because he believed he had the clearer opportunity to pass Palou.

That clash gave Grosjean some valuable breathing space at the front and, for a moment, also handed Palou a little room.

On the following lap, Ericsson pulled clear of his team-mate, while Power was doing a slight fuel save like much of the field.

With seven laps remaining, Ericsson made a swift and clean move on Palou for second place at the hairpin and then turned his attention to Grosjean. One lap later, he was within a second, before taking the lead with five laps to go.

Soon after Ericsson moved to the front, Kyffin Simpson spun at the hairpin but managed to continue without triggering a race-changing late caution.

Ericsson then surged away to his first victory with Andretti, coming just a week after the announcement of his contract extension.

Grosjean had to settle for second place, his sixth runner-up finish since joining IndyCar.

The fight for the final podium place became a three-way battle, with Power holding off Palou and Arrow McLaren’s Pato O’Ward to claim his third podium of the year.

Christian Lundgaard finished one position behind his McLaren team-mate after the team endured setup issues throughout the weekend.

Rinus VeeKay, Scott McLaughlin, Graham Rahal and Santino Ferrucci completed the top ten.

Louis Foster, who had taken pole position after his earlier success, was among several drivers caught out by the jutting wall ‘points’ on the Markham circuit. The same hazard also trapped Mick Schumacher and Kyle Kirkwood, turning minor mistakes into race-ending incidents.


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