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British Formula 1 legend Stirling Moss dies at the age of 90 after several years of health problems.
Moss won a total of 16 World Cup races between 1951 and 1961, but was never a champion. He finished the world championship standings four times in second place and three times in third place. Moss is considered the best driver in the UK who has never been a world champion.
The Briton was always close to fulfilling the dream of his life before having to resign after the Goodwood horror accident in 1962. An attempt to return a year later failed, then he became a successful real estate agent.
In March 2000, Moss was knighted. In early 2018, he retired from public life after months of hospitalization and was cared for by home nurses. His third wife, Susie, attended his 90th birthday celebrations in September 2019 without him.
A “lead foot” in the early years
English Formula 1 legend Stirling Moos had already fallen into the speed frenzy as a teenager.
His father was an amateur racing driver, his mother made a name for himself as a rally driver. “It is difficult to negotiate a curve at full speed. But taking the same curve at full speed when there is a wall on one side and a chasm on the other is a real achievement, “Moss said later.
At age 15, he was able to obtain a ticket thanks to a special permit, which he had to deliver several times later due to his fast driving style.
Image: Keystone
Debut of Formula 1 in Switzerland
His main foot also made him famous on the race track. Tactical driving was not a Stirling Moss thing, but the dentist’s brash son always pushed the limit with passion. Many victories in the lower classes were followed by the Formula 1 debut at Bremgarten, near Bern, in 1951. However, Moss initially had no chance in inferior British cars. It was only after moving to Maserati that he scored his first Grand Prix points in 1954 before celebrating his 1955 victory debut in the Mercedes home race at Aintree.
After three world runners-up behind Juan Manuel Fangio in series, Moss entered the title race as the favorite after the Argentine’s retirement in 1958. Until the penultimate Grand Prix of the season, he led the championship standings. In the final in Portugal, he gave advice to Mike Hawthorn on how to get his race car working again. Hawthorn was still on points and in the end became champion ahead of Moss by one point.
But the call of the “eternal second” was not really correct. At 66 Grand Prix, Moss was the first to cross the finish line 16 times. He won 212 of 529 races in all classes, but then the Fordwater corner at Goodwood and the fatal crash crashed into a dirt wall. “I thought I could still compete for 20 years. I was really at the peak of my career, ”Moss said in memory of the accident.
Failed return attempt
An attempt to return a year later failed, so the god immersed himself in Formula 1 life. He became a successful realtor “because you don’t have to be able to do anything.” But Moss could not do without engines and fast cars. In a James Bond movie, he drove the villains’ escape car. He lent his voice to “Roary the Race Car” for a cartoon series. In veteran racing, he was at the beginning until old age. “I come to rest on the move,” reveals Moss, who was knighted in March 2000.
Even at motorsport festivals in Goodwood, the PS senior was a longtime regular guest, and ran the Fordwater corner painlessly. “When I get there, I realize how much faster I drove when I was young,” Moss said.
