By: Spencer Neff
December 29, 2023

On Friday night, former IndyCar driver Gil de Ferran passed away at age 56. The Paris, France-born driver grew up in Brazil, where he followed the path of IndyCar Champion Emerson Fittipaldi.

After four years between British Formula 3 and Formula 3000, de Ferran would test an IndyCar with Hall VDS Racing in 1994.

For 1995, he signed with the organization. At Cleveland’s Burke Lakefront Airport, he earned his first career pole. In the 1995 finale at Laguna Seca, he earned his first career victory. He would earn another victory with Jim Hall’s team in Cleveland before the latter’s retirement at season’s end.

For the next three seasons, de Ferran would drive for Walker Motorsports. In 1999, he earned his first victory with the team at Portland, two years after falling .027 of a second short to Mark BLundell, the closest INDYCAR road course finish ever.

For 2000, he moved to Team Penske. After the tragic death of Greg Moore, de Ferran would be joined by fellow Brazilian Helio Castroneves. On May 27, 2000, de Ferran would bring Car Owner Roger Penske his long-awaited 100th INDYCAR victory, doing so at Nazareth Speedway.

On the strength of another victory at Portland and four pole wins, de Ferran earned his first championship in the CART FedEx Championship Series. That weekend, he also set the closed course speed record-241.428 mph.

A year to the day of de Ferran’s Nazareth win, Helio Castroneves and de Ferran would finish 1-2 at the 85th Indianapolis 500, Penske’s 11th as a team and first 1-2 finish. Later that season, he earned a second consecutive title.

In 2003, de Ferran survived the pain of a back injury at Phoenix two months earlier to earn his lone Indianapolis 500 victory. Teammate Castroneves, who had won the previous two years, was second with Tony Kanaan making it a 1-2-3 for Brazil.

Following the 2003 season, de Ferran stepped away from INDYCAR. He won his last race at Texas Motor Speedway on October 12, the 12th of his career across CART and IRL (Indy Racing League).

In 2009, de Ferran ended a short return to sports cars with a venture into IndyCar ownership. Joining Roger’s son Jay Penske and Steve Lucas, they formed de Ferran Dragon Racing.

Driver Rapheal Matos would earn four Top Ten finishes with the outfit across two seasons, including fourth-place efforts at Sao Paolo and Watkins Glen in 2010.

From 2018-2023, de Ferran would have multiple stints as an advisor for McLaren. IndyCar1909.com offers condolences to Gil de Ferran’s friends and family. We would also like to thank him for his contributions to the sport of auto racing.

Header Image By Dan Heingel/INDYCAR