Lando Norris paid tribute with a helmet design to his friend and a successful driver, Gil de Ferran, who died at the end of December 2023.
Gil de Ferran was a French-born Brazilian professional racing driver and a team owner who was 56 when he suddenly died of a heart attack last December.
Some of his achievements include winning the Indy 500 in 2003 and the Champ Car World Series in 2000 and 2001, driving for Team Penske.
De Ferran worked in Formula 1 as a sporting director for McLaren between seasons 2018 and 2021 and later as a consultant with the Papaya team. His sudden death shocked everyone.
In a statement from the Brazilian Automobile Confederation (CBA), it was written that de Ferran suffered a heart attack at a private motor racing club in Opa-Locka, Florida.
He was promptly taken to the hospital but, tragically, did not survive. Lando Norris decided to pay tribute to him with his helmet design today. The 24-year-old wrote on his X (previously known as Twitter),
"We lost someone really special to us at the end of last year, he was a dear friend of mine and he'd been with me pretty much since I came into Formula 1. Someone who I not only had many laughs and great times with, but someone who helped me out on and off the track whenever I needed it."
The helmet's design is precisely the one with which de Ferran won the Indy 500. You can see Norris wearing the helmet during the evening session of the first day of pre-season testing in Bahrain. He added:
"This is the design he won the Indy 500 with, and I'll be wearing it today as my little way to say thank you for everything and to let him know we're thinking of him and he's still very much part of McLaren. I hope you like it. This one is for you Gil."
We lost someone really special to us at the end of last year, he was a dear friend of mine and he’d been with me pretty much since I came into Formula 1. Someone who I not only had many laughs and great times with, but someone who helped me out on and off the track whenever I…
