British F1 legend Sir Stirling Moss has passed away at the age of 90 following a long battle with illness.
He is widely regarded as one of the greatest drivers in the history of British motorsport, and in particular F1, despite having never won the world title.
Moss has been away from public life for the last two years having gone through a series of illnesses.
In 2016, he spent 134 days in hospital having suffered a chest infection on a holiday to Singapore.
The Career of Stirling Moss
Moss competed in F1 over a period of 10 years between 1951 and 1961. In that time, he took part in 66 races, winning 16 of them.
He finished as runner up in the drivers standings on four consecutive occasions between 1955 and 1958.
The latter of those, in 1958, saw him lose out on the title to fellow Brit Mike Hawthorn following a brilliant show of sportsmanship.
At the Portuguese Grand Prix late in the season, Hawthorn was threatened with a disqaulification for reversing on track.
Moss went before the stewards to vouch for Hawthorn and defend him. As a result, Hawthorn’s six points for finishing second were preserved and he would win the world championship over Moss by a single point.
Had Moss allowed Hawthorn to face his punishment without defending him, he would have won the championship. As it is, morals were clearly more important.
In 1962, Moss fell into a coma for a month following a crash at Goodwood. He was left partially paralysed for six months and was forced to effectively retire from motorsport.
He continued to race in historic events and legends races until the age of 81.
Whichever way you look at it, Stirling Moss is a legend of motorsport, and will be dearly missed by all. We at The Sports Despatch send our thoughts and prayers to Stirling’s family and friends in this difficult period.
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