Q&A: Gil de Ferran - Pt.1.

Following last weekend's Firestone Indy 225, and the news that Indy Racing League veteran Gil de Ferran is to retire at the end of the 2003 campaign, there could be no more obvious targets for the weekly interview than the Brazilian and his replacement at Penske, double IRL champion Sam Hornish Jr. Here, de Ferran talks about one of the toughest decisions of his career and the reasons behind hanging up his helmet....

MC:
Welcome to the IndyCar Series press conference. We have with us today IndyCar Series drivers Gil de Ferran and Sam Hornish Jr. Our first guest is Gil de Ferran. He currently drives the #6 Marlboro Team Penske Dallara-Toyota and has two victories to his credit this year - the Indianapolis 500 and the Firestone Indy 200 at Nashville Superspeedway. He currently stands second in the points standings, just 25 points shy of current leader and team-mate Helio Castroneves, but yesterday announced that he would be retiring at the conclusion of the 2003 season.

Gil, good morning and thanks for joining us today.

Gil de Ferran:
Good morning.

MC:
The decision to retire ranks as one of the biggest decisions a person makes in their lifetime. If you can take us through some of your thoughts and the decisions that led up to you making this announcement...

GdF:
Sure. First of all, I want to say it was a very difficult and emotional decision for me because, being a racecar driver, it's all I have known really since I was a teenager. That's what I aimed to do since I was a kid, so it was a very big decision - a very big decision - for me.

I think this thought was bouncing in my mind since very early this year. To be honest, even before the season started, it was something that I was thinking about. I guess the very fact that I was thinking about it didn't come as being a good sign. Certainly, after we won the Indy 500 this year, and as we were approaching the middle of the season, I felt it was important for me to make a call whether I was going to continue or not. It was more with regards to the team and our partners and everybody else involved. I don't think it was fair for me to wait until the last race of the season to finally say 'well, that's it, I have finished', which, to be quite honest with you, from a purely selfish standpoint, is probably what I would have preferred to do.

But it was not really a realistic and fair option in my mind. From that point onwards, early July, I told Roger [Penske] that I would not be continuing, and I guess I felt it was important to leave while I was at the peak of my career and move on to different things and look forward to an onwards and upwards career doing something else.

MC:
Did your victory at Indianapolis this year help ease the decision or solidify the decision to retire?

GdF:
Yes and no. I guess it helped, you know, by underlying the fact that I had accomplished more than I could possibly dream of. It felt like the Indy 500 was a big factor on that front but, on the other hand, I guess I am trying to work out what the peak of my career is. Right now, I just won the Indy 500, and this season I am still in the fight for the championship. I guess, you know, if I could just look back in a few year's time and say 'look, I won my last championship, and I won my last race, and I won the last Indy 500 I competed in', that would be the kind of memory I would like to have, rather than 'I didn't enjoy my last couple of years in racing as much as I did before' and so on and so forth.

MC:
Looking back on your career, specifically with Team Penske, you joined the team at a time when it was going through some struggles but, since joining them, you have helped give them several series championships and Indianapolis 500 victories. When you look back on your time with the team, there has to be a feeling of accomplishment....

GdF:
Absolutely. Certainly, my time at Penske is probably one of the most enjoyable times of my life, both from a professional and a personal standpoint. What we were able to accomplish together in my mind is incredible and, you know, I will forever cherish the memory of this last full season.

Q:
Is there more pressure on you now that you have made the announcement, or is there less pressure because you made the announcement?

GdF:
I don't think it changes all that much. I guess because the motivation to win the last three races and to try to win the championship is within me. I guess I have been racing with that decision taken, even though it hasn't been announced, since early July, and I hope you think that it hasn't really changed the way I approach my races and my driving. So I guess, in my mind, it doesn't really change much going forward to these last three races.

Q:
How much or did the fact that you were injured last year and you were injured this year factor in?

GdF:
I guess, in my mind, for me to be able to race properly and to be competitive and to drive at my best, I had to put both accidents behind me. I couldn't really sit in the car with fear in my heart and be afraid of possible consequences. I am very rational like that. You either race and drive full-hearted and with all enthusiasm and aggression that you have, or you don't do it at all.

So, from a psychological standpoint, I had to put them behind me even before I got in the car. So I guess, in my mind, I would say that it did not play a very big part in this decision. For me, the decision was more about not wanting to go into a decline. Do you see what I mean? I guess the very fact that I was questioning whether I should continue or not was a sign that perhaps, you know, at some point in the near future, I was maybe about to turn a corner. And I did not really want to go through that period of thinking 'well, maybe, last year, I would have done a better job at this'. That, for the way I operate in my mind, was very important for me. I really couldn't live with the thought that I am not doing as good a job as I did in the past.

Q:
What is next?

GdF:
Right now, there are no concrete plans to be announced. I think the only decision so far is that driving will no longer be the main focus of my life. You know, looking forward, I guess I have been racing for 21 years, and I guess I gathered a lot of experience with racing, all aspects of racing with cars and a little bit with business, and I developed and formed some good relationships over the years. Certainly, the one with the Penske organisation and Roger and the guys there, probably ranks as one of the most important ones. I would like to make good use of these experiences and these relationships in the future. In what way, shape, or form exactly, I have not come to that decision yet. Right now, I am focused on finishing this championship on a high note.

Q:
You still do a better job of singing 'Take me out to the ballgame' than Ozzy Osborne. At least you knew the words?

GdF:
Maybe I should do a record. What do you think? He was very successful.

Q:
I don't know about that. Anyway, Rick Mears retired when he was 41. You are retiring just six years younger than that. A lot of people thought that Rick's career ended far too early. How, in your mind, do you keep from the self-doubt that 'maybe I've still got it in me, I still want to go out there and do it'. How do you suppress the competitive desires that a race driver has?

GdF:
I don't know. That's the problem I have to deal with going forward. To be honest with you, I am sure I am going to have a few itches here and there in the future because I love racing. I always did, and I probably always will - in a way, I do not know the answer to that question.

But, on the other side of the coin, there were a lot of funny stories that happened yesterday. I was trying to contact a few people that were friends or people that I felt played a very important role in my life and my career. Certainly, one of those people was Jackie Stewart. So I called Jackie and he said - the first thing he said - was 'how old are you?'. I said '35', and he said 'oh, you lasted one more year than I did'. So I don't know, it's hard to know exactly when the time is to stop and at what age and so on and so forth. I guess I just felt it was my time.

Following last weekend's Firestone Indy 225, and the news that Indy Racing League veteran Gil de Ferran is to retire at the end of the 2003 campaign, there could be no more obvious targets for the weekly interview than the Brazilian and his replacement at Penske, double IRL champion Sam Hornish Jr. Here, de Ferran talks about one of the toughest decisions of his career and....

Q:
Rick [Mears] did a really good job when he got out of the car. He never ever even came close to getting back in, never showed any signs of wanting to do it. When he quit, he quit. Have you spoken with him? Has he given you advice, because there probably will be a transition period where it's going to be a little difficult for you?

GdF:
Absolutely. I mean Rick was very young, but he felt very strongly about that because it was discussed a lot, and I share his opinion on that. I think it's difficult for you to be competitive when you are not doing this full-time. It's hard enough for you to be in the thick of it when you are doing it 24/7, and you are thinking about it all the time, and you are training all the time, and you are driving all the time - and, even then, you don't win every race. So, to do it in a spur of the moment, it's even more difficult. Currently, I have no plans to do any race or do any driving and stuff like that. My mind right now is that, you know, driving is not something I want to focus on. I have no plans to do any sporadic races or anything like that. That's it.

Q:
At your age, you have a lot more years left in life. What is it that you would like to do? What are your other interests? What can you see yourself doing as a post-racing career?

GdF:
I love racing, like I said. I love cars. I love technology. I always did. I went to engineering school because it was something that I really wanted to do. I wanted to learn more about cars and technology and how things are built, made and developed. That has been a passion of mine that maybe I will dedicate myself to. But, like I said, there's a lot of things that I'd like to do that I suppressed for the sake of my focusing on my driving career; things that now I will try to open back up after October and explore things going forward. In a way, I am not in a great hurry to make a big decision here.