The reality of etching your name into motorsport eternity hits differently when you are staring at a 3D version of your own face. Felix Rosenqvist made the trip to Tryon, North Carolina, this week to witness the unveiling of his sculpted clay likeness, which will take its permanent place on the legendary Borg-Warner Trophy.
Artist William Behrends carved the bas-relief portrait that captures the historic win. Rosenqvist earned his spot by conquering the 110th Running of the Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge on May 24, piloting the No. 60 SiriusXM Honda for Meyer Shank Racing w/Curb Agajanian. It came down to an insane final lap where he rode the high line against the wall exiting Turn 4 on Lap 200, blasting past David Malukas in the No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet just yards before the Yard of Bricks start-finish line. The margin was a razor-thin .0233 of a second—the closest finish in Indianapolis 500 history—capping off a race that featured a record-setting 70 lead changes. In his eighth Indianapolis 500 start, Rosenqvist became the 77th different winner and collected a record $4.34 million in prize money.
After a whirlwind media tour following the checkered flag and the conclusion of the season, the studio visit served as a second wave of celebration. "It becomes more real now," Rosenqvist said. "It’s one of those kind of victories that just always stays. No one’s ever going to be able to take it away from you."
Beyond the historic finish, Rosenqvist brings a brand-new aesthetic to the iconic hardware as the first Indianapolis 500 winner depicted with a full beard. Behrends, who has been sculpting drivers for the trophy since 1990, had to figure out how to represent the facial hair without letting it overpower the portrait. While six previous winners sported mustaches—Jules Goux in 1913, René Thomas in 1914, Gaston Chevrolet in 1920, Wilbur Shaw in 1937, 1939, and 1940, Mauri Rose in 1941, 1947, and 1948, and Bobby Rahal in 1986—none featured a full beard.
Behrends also captured other distinct facial features, noting the driver's strong, angular, Swedish jawline, which differed from recent winners like Spaniard Alex Palou and American Josef Newgarden. Rosenqvist even spotted a family trait in the nose, noting it matched his grandfather, father, and daughter, alongside other minute details like his right ear sitting slightly higher than his left. Having welcomed his first child, Stella, with his wife Emille in May, Rosenqvist video-called his family to share the moment, looking ahead to a time when future generations might visit the trophy at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Hall of Fame Museum to trace their family history.
"Whatever happens, if my daughter or if I have a son in the future, or whatever happens, they decide to do something completely different, we always have that piece of history in our family to go back and say, 'Hey, your grandpa did that,' which is very rare to have that possibility," Rosenqvist said.
