McLaren will be wearing mourning ribbon at the end of 2023: Gil de Ferran, sports director from July 2018 to 2021 and most recently advisor to the British racing team in Formula 1 since May 2023, has died unexpectedly.
De Ferran attended a private driving event on Friday at a race track called The Concours Club in Opa-locka, Florida, along with his son Luke. The Brazilian then suddenly no longer felt well, parked his car and, according to reports from the Associated Press news agency, among others, suffered a heart attack. The resuscitation efforts were unsuccessful.
McLaren CEO Zak Brown posted on win. He was a great friend for over 20 years and will be greatly missed and never forgotten.”
According to McLaren condolences, de Ferran was “an important and integral part of our racing team. He was a formidable force on and off the track and left a lasting impression on everyone who raced and worked with him. He will be missed by everyone at McLaren Racing become.”
Dream of a Formula 1 cockpit
As a teenager, De Ferran dreamed of one day becoming a professional racing driver and Formula 1 world champion like Emerson Fittipaldi. In 1991 he came third in the British Formula 3 Championship, beaten only by his compatriot Rubens Barrichello and David Coulthard, both of whom would later have successful Formula 1 careers.
In 1992 de Ferran became champion himself, for the team of Jackie Stewart’s son Paul, and in 1993 and 1994 he took fourth and third place in the then Formula 3000 championship, a forerunner of today’s Formula 2. But from tests at Williams and Arrows didn’t get a contract, so he moved to North America at the end of 1994.
There de Ferran rose to become one of the stars of the US motorsport scene, was crowned CART champion in 2000 and 2001 and celebrated probably his greatest success in the last year of his active career in the top league, 2003, when he completed the 500 miles on the fourth attempt Indianapolis was able to win. Afterwards he continued to drive long-distance races.
In 2005 he reappeared in Europe, initially as sports director of the then BAR team. Not least because of his close connections to Honda, BAR’s partner at the time, for whom de Ferran initiated the takeover of the racing team that is based in Brackley and now competes as a Mercedes factory team.
Not only active in Formula 1
At McLaren, de Ferran did not concentrate exclusively on Formula 1, but was most recently available to the company as a consultant for all motorsport engagements.
It is obvious that he has his expertise in the IndyCar sector. In 2019, when Fernando Alonso unsuccessfully tried to qualify for the Indy 500, de Ferran was McLaren’s sporting director.
De Ferran was 56 years old. He leaves behind his wife Angela, a daughter (Anna) and a son (Luke). Daughter Anna started a career as a DJ and most recently also worked in the Formula 1 environment. At the 2023 Formula 1 season finale in Abu Dhabi, she performed as part of the pre-race show.