Talented driver who never made it to F1, but moved to the US and became a legend. Won the CART title twice, in 2000 and 2001. He also won the Indy 500 in 2003, with Penske Racing. He retired at the end of 2003 and worked as a TV commentator. In 2005, he was named as Honda's F1 Sporting Director, a role he kept until 2007. In 2008, he announced a surprise return to racing, and did this with his very own, newly formed ALMS team. In 2009, though, he finally retired as a driver and in 2010 ran a ALMS and IRL team. In 2011, he disbanded the team and although his ultimate aim was to design and build single-seater racing cars, he instead ran an engineering company. He was also an ambassador for Formula E. Gil also designed his own large ocean-side house in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. In 2018, Gil became a motorsport advisor for McLaren with responsibilities both in Formula 1 and for McLaren's Indy project and after Eric Boullier's resignation, Gil took up a management role within the team which le left in 2021. In the last days of 2023, he was driving in an event in Florida, with his son, when Gil sadly died from a heart-attack.

Biography last updated 30 Dec 2023