We lost a much-loved member of the McLaren Racing family at the end of 2023 as Gil de Ferran sadly passed away. To celebrate the Brazilian racing hero's career, we have looked back on his achievements and the qualities that made him such a unique personality.

Gil was many things to many different people: a true friend, a devoted family man, a supreme motivator and communicator, a brilliant engineering mind, and an extremely talented racer with an unquenchable thirst for motorsport.

He is often referred to as one of the best drivers never to compete in Formula 1, but that undermines the greatness he achieved in many other series, including two CART Championship titles, an Indianapolis 500 victory, and second place in the 2009 American Le Mans Series LMP1 class with his own team, de Ferran Motorsports.

Although he never drove in F1, Gil did work in the series in various roles, including two separate spells with McLaren where he played an integral role in much of our recent success.

Like many young Brazilian drivers, Gil’s career began with an infatuation with Ayrton Senna, and he dreamed of following in the footsteps of the former McLaren great, as well as our first title-winning driver, Emerson Fittipaldi. Inspired by his compatriots, Gil began karting at the relatively late age of 14, overcoming initial funding difficulties to secure a professional drive, which led him to the Brazilian Formula Ford title.

During those early years, he worked on his car with the help of his father, an engineer in Brazil. Little did he realise that this was laying the foundations for his future technical roles. This period sparked his interest in engineering and allowed him to hone and develop his knowledge. As a young karter, Gil would take his kart apart each day and rebuild it with improvements - he never once suffered from a mechanical-related retirement during this period.

This led to him studying for a degree in Mechanical Engineering during his Brazilian racing career and later saw him develop particularly strong relationships with his engineers and mechanics throughout his career, due to his eagerness to learn and ability to take on board information.

In a twist of fate, it was after a meeting with his hero, Senna, that his dream of racing in Europe became a reality. Senna had been impressed by the young driver and introduced him to Ralph Firman, who placed him with a British-based team.

After overcoming a tough start to life in Europe, Gil’s reputation grew as he started taking poles and securing silverware while racing in Formula Ford, Formula Vauxhall Lotus, and Formula Three. He finished third behind Rubens Barrichello and David Coulthard in the 1991 F3 season, before winning the title the following year. It was during this time that he met his wife, Angela, while they were working together at Paul Stewart Racing.

F1 teams were keeping track of the then-25-year-old and Williams handed him a test, but they signed David Coulthard instead, despite Gil having impressed. He was later given another opportunity with Footwork, but suffered a head injury during the test and was unable to complete the entire session.

But when one door closes, another one opens, and after two years in F3000, where he competed for the title but finished third and fourth, Gil joined CART IndyCar with Hall/VDS Racing in 1995 on the back of a mightily impressive test. IndyCar gained a driver who would go on to become a great of the series, whilst another famous F1 ‘what if?’ was born.

Competing on a strong grid, featuring the likes of Jacques Villeneuve, Emerson Fittipaldi, Bobby Rahal, and Michael Andretti, Gil ended his debut campaign as Rookie of the Year, taking his first podium in the penultimate race before winning for the first time in the finale.

His engineering and technical nous made him a quick learner and allowed him to mix easily with his new team. Sociable and friendly with a good sense of humour, he swiftly won friends in America, whilst impressing with his ability on track.

After two seasons with Hall/VDS Racing, which included another three podiums and a second victory, he was signed to spearhead Walker Racing’s IndyCar challenge and delivered the team their highest-ever Drivers’ Championship position, finishing as vice-champion in 1997 to Alex Zanardi of the dominant Chip Ganassi outfit.

He spent a further two seasons with Walker Racing before earning the biggest move of his career, being signed by IndyCar giants Penske Racing. The team had been impressed by the way in which Gil carried himself and believed that in a Championship-contending car, he could deliver them a title.

Their faith was rewarded with two in as many years, the first sealed in the final race of 2000, after Gil had set a record-breaking 241.428mph qualifying lap. This remains the fastest-ever qualifying lap average speed in racing - a clear indication of just how supremely fast Gil was.

The Brazilian successfully defended his crown in 2001, winning the title by an even greater margin and only narrowly missed out on his first Indianapolis 500 win, ending as runner-up.

Injuries caused by crashes curtailed his final three seasons in IndyCar, but he still managed to secure a historic Indy 500 victory in an epic race in 2003. Gil prevented Helio Castroneves from becoming the first driver to win the Indy 500 three times in a row, overtaking the polesitter on Lap 31 and battling on through cramp in his hands and shoulders. Emotional and stricken following the gruelling battle, Gil struggled to even get out of his car after the race, but managed to stand up, teary-eyed, to drink the milk, and gleefully declared “I love milk.”

Despite still suffering from the effects of these injuries, Gil managed second overall in the Drivers’ Championship that year at 36-years-old, with four podiums and three wins from 16 Rounds.

After retiring from IndyCar and spending some time away from motorsport, Gil took up one of several offers to work within F1, becoming Sports Director of BAR, where he worked for two years. Another short break followed before he made a return to racing with his eponymous team, de Ferran Motorsports, initially racing in LMP2 and later LMP1.

His ability to build a race-winning car and run a team shone through in the American Le Mans Series as his LMP1 team won five of 10 races to finish second in the Constructors’ Championship in 2009.

With this, he again hung up his racing boots and linked up with Jay Penske, son of Gil’s former employer, and close friend, Roger Penske. The duo merged their respective teams and formed de Ferran Dragon Racing, which ran for two years in IndyCar before he took another break.

Such was his impact, it feels as though Gil had always been a member of the McLaren family, but it was as recently as 2018 that his journey with us began. Our team had been struggling for several seasons, failing to finish higher than fifth in the Constructors’ Championship in 2012 and suffering a ninth-place finish in 2017.

CEO Zak Brown identified the Brazilian as the man to halt the decline and return us to the front of the grid, hiring him as Sporting Director. Under his watch, the team made huge strides forward, finishing fourth in 2019 and third in 2020, ahead of his departure.

Gil had formed a special bond with the team at McLaren during those few seasons and was called upon again by Zak and Team Principal, Andrea Stella, in 2023. Speaking to the McLaren website earlier this year, Gil said he was “both privileged and honoured” to return, adding that it “felt like coming back home.”

Re-joining in May in a non-executive, non-operational consultancy role, Gil spread his time between the McLaren Technology Centre in Woking and at the racetrack, attending every race and playing a key role in debriefs. Hailed as a “great coach” and a “brilliant strategic thinker” by Andrea, our Team Principal believed that Gil could add “horsepower” to his new-look technical team.

And so it proved. Gil was a hugely positive presence around the factory and the garage, bringing his excellent technical knowledge, and more importantly, his people skills. Throughout his career, he became known for his communication and motivational abilities and had a unique talent for bringing people together, able to bridge the technical language barriers between various teams with their own lexicon and jargon.

This played an integral role in our turnaround in 2023. When Gil arrived ahead of Round 5 in Miami, we were joint-fifth with 14 points, but we ended the season in fourth with 285, delivering nine podiums and an F1 Sprint win.

Gil had been enjoying his return to McLaren and said that he was impressed by the “depth of talent at every level.” His management style, personality, and beliefs epitomised what we stand for, and he leaves behind a team hungry for success, determined to race on in his memory.

Our team’s heartfelt sympathies are with his wife Angela, his children, Anna and Luke, and all who loved him.