The end of a gentleman: Sir Stirling Moss has died
Aged 90, former Formula 1 driver Stirling Moss passed away this Sunday morning after battling an illness that had followed him for years. A look back at a special episode of his career.
Born in 1929 in Great Britain, author of 66 starts for 16 victories in F1, Stirling Moss passed away today after a long illness. A legend of motorsport, the Briton had the particularity of regularly coming close to the world championship title, without ever achieving it. He earned a nickname: “The champion without a crown.”
Quickly revealed as a talented driver during the 1950s, he took part in the English patriotic surge following the heavy aftermath of the Second World War.
With numerous victories in F1 but also in various categories of motorsport, Stirling Moss never managed to achieve the world champion title, which he even let slip away in 1958, like a true gentleman.
Worthy of a Hollywood movie, the end of the 1958 season fully illustrates the values of Man, which Mercedes paid tribute to by naming some of its limited models.
End of 1958, the F1 season is almost wrapped up and nothing seems able to prevent Stirling Moss from claiming his first world title, as the championship leader. But during the Moroccan Grand Prix, he defended Mike Hawthorn, considering he was the victim of an unfair penalty, and preferred to let him have the title rather than win under those conditions.
Regularly at the forefront, he ended his career in 1962 during a non-championship F1 race at Goodwood, as part of the Glover Trophy. Then 32 years old, the Englishman had lost precious time in the pits due to issues with the Colotti gearbox of his Lotus. Frustrated and determined to attack, he was attempting to regain a lap on Graham Hill when he went off the track and hit an embankment. After sustaining severe head injuries, he stopped his F1 career.
He then became a commentator and even returned to the wheel for a few British championship and vintage car races.
Let us pay tribute to this driver who, despite not having a title, left an indelible mark in the history of motorsport with 212 victories out of 529 races contested, all categories combined.
