The streets of Toronto delivered chaos and unpredictability once again as the NTT IndyCar Series returned to Exhibition Place, and for New Zealand’s Scott Dixon, Marcus Armstrong and Scott McLaughlin, it was a day of what-ifs, early promise, and a tangle of strategy that ultimately left all three short of what might have been.
Pato O’Ward emerged victorious in a race that finished under caution, collecting his second win of the 2025 season after navigating a treacherous 90-lap affair that saw five cautions, multiple crashes, and strategy charts turned upside down.
He was followed home by Rinus Veekay and Kyffin Simpson, who earned a stunning maiden podium finish in third.
Dixon was the best of the Kiwis in tenth, salvaging a top ten after a gritty drive through the midfield in the closing laps. Armstrong crossed the line in 14th, while McLaughlin’s day ended cruelly just moments after his first pit stop.
The drama began almost immediately. From third on the grid, Armstrong made a blistering start, snatching second place from Alex Palou on the opening lap as Colton Herta led the field into Turn 1.
McLaughlin also made early gains, jumping up to 12th from 15th before pitting as early as lap 3, switching off his soft tyres in a bid to gain track position, but his race ended just seconds later.
As McLaughlin exited pit lane, a loose wheel nut on his left-rear caused the wheel to detach and bounce along the track. He slammed into the wall at Turn 2 and retired on the spot, bringing out the first caution of the day.
Under yellow, several drivers, including Herta and Armstrong, made their first stops, reshuffling the order and promoting Palou into the lead. Scott Dixon, who had started 11th, stayed out and steadily made progress, climbing into the top five after passing both Kyffin Simpson and Veekay in quick succession.
The race’s second caution came soon after, when Christian Rasmussen lost his front wing in contact with Will Power and crashed at Turn 5.
Before that incident, Power and Felix Rosenqvist had also come together, with Rosenqvist sustaining front wing damage. Kyle Kirkwood was penalised three positions for being out of line at the earlier restart.
Palou continued to lead on the lap 17 restart, with Dixon sitting fourth and Armstrong back in 13th, stuck in traffic after his early stop. Another major shake-up came on lap 30 when Alexander Rossi suffered a race-ending crash.
He brushed the wall, damaging the right-rear corner of his car and scattering debris across the circuit, triggering a third caution and a flurry of pit stops.
Herta, Armstrong and others dived into the pits, but it was a messy entry. Kirkwood spun after getting tagged by Armstrong, though both were able to continue. Dixon and Palou stayed out, climbing to the front of the field but leaving themselves out of sequence in terms of strategy.
The race resumed on lap 37, but chaos struck again at Turn 1. A collision between Louis Foster and Jacob Abel sparked a massive pile-up that collected multiple cars.
Josef Newgarden’s car ended up wedged underneath Abel’s, while others, including Devlin DeFrancesco, were caught in the wreckage.
Armstrong slammed on the brakes to avoid it, but was hit from behind by Nolan Siegel, adding more damage and further derailing his race. The fourth caution of the day was called, with both Newgarden and Abel retiring on the spot.
Palou and Dixon finally pitted under yellow on lap 42, but the timing left them buried deep in the pack, Palou in 16th, Dixon 17th, Armstrong just ahead in 15th. The restart saw Power brush the wall and fall down the order, while Armstrong made another stop on lap 43 and rejoined in 19th.
The strategy cycles continued to unfold, and by the time the leaders began their final round of pit stops, Dixon was up to ninth on track.
Palou pitted for fresh hard tyres on lap 55, while Dixon came in a lap later and crucially jumped ahead of his Chip Ganassi teammate in the pit exchange.
Neither would gain much ground from there, as the shuffled order left both stuck more than 25 seconds behind the race lead.
As the race entered its final stages, O’Ward cycled into the lead once Herta pitted from the front, and the Mexican driver began to stretch his advantage over Veekay. Simpson, Rahal, Ericsson and Herta made up the top six, while the Kiwis were left battling further back.
Dixon, showing his trademark late-race strength, fought his way through a seven-car scrap involving Christian Lundgaard, David Malukas, Conor Daly, Graham Rahal, Felix Rosenqvist, Will Power and Palou.
He eventually emerged ahead of all of them, moving up to ninth before being shuffled back to tenth on the final lap.
With just a handful of laps to go, another incident, this time between Rosenqvist and Siegel at Turn 10, brought out the fifth and final caution. The crash occurred just before O’Ward reached the start/finish line, freezing the field and ensuring the race would end under yellow.
For Dixon, it was a solid if unspectacular result after a weekend that started slowly and saw strategy and circumstance drop him out of the fight for the podium.
Armstrong, who had looked a real threat early on, was left frustrated after being caught in the wrong place at the wrong time.
McLaughlin, meanwhile, was left to rue what might have been after an unlucky team error in the pits led to his early retirement.
“I just went through turn two there, I felt good then all of a sudden something let go,” said McLaughlin.
“Just gutted for everyone on the Gallagher Chevy, we had a piece today and a piece yesterday, I just mucked up qualifying, but I thought we had a really good chance today regardless.
“I bet you a yellow, which was ours, but if that had happened, it would have been pretty peachy keen for us.
“It’s hard, we just can’t catch a break, I make mistakes, bad luck, it’s just one of those years.
“Just really struggling right now…This is by far the toughest year of my life”
Next up is Laguna Seca for the Grand Prix of Monterey next weekend, where all three Kiwis will look to rebound and capitalise on what has so far been a season of flashes without full reward.
Header Image: NTT IndyCar Series
