De Ferran was born on 11 November 1967 in Paris, France. He later lived in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, with his wife Angela, who worked for Paul Stewart Racing, and their two children. Inspired by the success of Emerson Fittipaldi, de Ferran began his racing career in karting in the 1980s.
De Ferran won the Formula Ford championship in Brazil in 1987, and began racing in Formula Three in 1991. Driving for Edenbridge Racing, he finished third in the 1991 British Formula Three season, behind Rubens Barrichello and David Coulthard. In 1992, de Ferran moved to Paul Stewart Racing and won the title, securing seven wins. He continued with Paul Stewart Racing in the International Formula 3000 series in 1993 and 1994, finishing fifth in 1993 and third in 1994. In 1993, he tested for the Footwork Arrows Formula One team, but a head injury compromised his running; he recalled hitting his head on a locker door while walking near the motorhome, resulting in a split head and ending his test.
In 1994, de Ferran was invited to test a CART IndyCar by Hall/VDS Racing, and secured a drive for 1995. He won his first race at Laguna Seca Raceway in 1995, finishing 14th in the PPG Indy Car World Series and earning Rookie of the Year honors. In 1996, de Ferran won at Cleveland, avenging a previous season's loss at the same track, marking the final win for car owner Jim Hall. He remained in the U.S. for 1997, joining Walker Racing, and finished as runner-up to Alex Zanardi with twelve top-ten finishes but no wins. A promising win at the 1997 season opener at Homestead-Miami Speedway was lost after contact with Dennis Vitolo, who was a lap down. The 1998 season proved unreliable, with driver errors and the performance disadvantage of Goodyear tires contributing to a 12th-place finish.
The breakthrough came in 1999 with a win at Portland International Raceway. However, the loss of sponsors Goodyear and Valvoline followed that victory. De Ferran and Greg Moore were signed by Marlboro Team Penske towards the end of the season, but Moore’s death at California Speedway led to Hélio Castroneves joining the team.
De Ferran achieved his greatest success with Team Penske, winning the CART championship in 2000 and 2001. On 28 October 2000, he set a track record and closed course record at California Speedway during qualifying, with a speed of 241.428 mph (388.541 km/h), which as of December 2022, remains the fastest qualifying lap speed ever recorded at an official race meeting. He followed this by winning the series championship at Fontana on 30 October.
In 2003, de Ferran won the Indianapolis 500 despite suffering a broken back during a race at Phoenix. He passed teammate Hélio Castroneves with 31 laps remaining to secure the victory, giving Penske Racing its second 1-2 finish in the Indianapolis 500. His final race came at Texas Motor Speedway in 2003, where he won, but the event was overshadowed by a crash that seriously injured Kenny Bräck. De Ferran finished second in the championship standings that year, runner-up to Scott Dixon.
Following his Indianapolis triumph, de Ferran retired at the end of 2003. In July 2013, Autosport magazine named de Ferran one of the 50 greatest drivers to have never raced in Formula One.
In 2005, de Ferran joined the BAR-Honda Formula One team as Sports Director, resigning in 2007. He later served as sporting director for McLaren from July 2018 until early 2021, and returned in a consultant advisory role in May 2023. In 2008, he returned to racing, fielding a factory-backed LMP2 Acura ARX-01b prototype in the American Le Mans Series under the de Ferran Motorsports banner. The team achieved four front row grid positions, led six races, and scored three podium finishes in its debut season. In 2009, de Ferran Motorsports was chosen by Honda to develop the Acura ARX-02a for the LMP1 division of the American Le Mans Series, winning five races, seven poles, and finishing as runners-up in the LMP1 class. He retired from driving at the end of 2009 to focus on expanding his team. In 2010, de Ferran merged his team with Luczo Dragon Racing, forming de Ferran Dragon Racing, which competed in IndyCar. He was also part of the ICONIC committee developing the future IndyCar car concept. De Ferran Dragon Racing closed in 2011 after failing to secure sponsorships.
De Ferran died on 29 December 2023, at the age of 56, after suffering a heart attack while driving with his son at The Concours Club in Opa-locka, Florida.
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