Speaking in a pre-season news conference at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Castroneves opened up about his loss – as he himself transitions from being a full-time IndyCar driver to a team co-owner with Meyer Shank Racing in 2024.
“Yeah, I sort of lost my consultant, my advisor in being a team owner,” an emotional Castroneves said as he fought back his tears. “Certainly we're going to miss him for sure.
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“My memories with Gil is from the beginning of our era with Team Penske, [it] was us having our first meeting, which took us about an hour and 45 minutes, which means Gil was [talking for] an hour and 40, and mine was five minutes.
“Certainly, his personality was completely different than mine. Even though he's trying to be funny, which he wasn't funny, became funny. He was one of those guys – big heart, very, very intense, incredible knowledge, and yeah, we had a lot of good moments, myself, Gil and [Team Penske president Tim] Cindric.
“We were called the Three Musketeers. Nothing could stop us.”
Source: Autosport