De Ferran expands role with HPD

Gil de Ferran's consultancy role at Honda Performance Development has been expanded to encompass all of HPD's racing activities in the USA.

The 2003 Indianapolis 500 winner and two-time CART Indy car champion was appointed to the role of technical consultant last year to serve as a conduit between Honda's engineers and its teams and drivers.

"Ever since the beginning of last year we've been discussing how we can expand things," the Brazilian said at the announcement of his new position in Long Beach. "I'm looking forward to this expanded role and having a positive impact on the company, which is very close to my heart."

De Ferran's relationship with Honda covers not only his years as a driver, but also his stints as a team owner in IndyCar and sportscars, and three years as sporting director at Honda's Formula 1 team. He said that his initial priorities are to use that experience to assist the company at every level from IndyCar down to the grassroots.

"I can bring HPD all those perspectives, and in fact that's already happening," he said. "I talk to the drivers and teams a lot, and we have a lot of internal discussions at HPD. I can also help the teams understand their role in making HPD better."