Stirling Moss. Senile old git?

Question

Why do people rate this man as one of the greats? He came 2nd four times...big deal he was driving for the best team on many of those occassions and he was destroyed by a 47 year old Fangio.

I read in autosport that his top 5 drivers are all from back in the 50-60s which is fine i suppose but the only modern drivers in his top 5 were Senna and....Hamilton. What a load of nonsense.

Answer 1

he is scraping the bottom of the barrel narrating a kids tv program (roary the racing car) on milkshake, but was a fantastic racing driver in his day!

Answer 2

Stirling Moss didn't just come second in four races.

He raced from 1948 to 1962, won 194 of the 497 races he entered, including 16 Formula One Grands Prix!

Answer 3

The only "git" here, is the one posting the question.

When you have raced in formula one, and won some races, get back to us.  Until then, shut the f*** up!

Answer 4

no try Formula 1 royalty and a living legend!!!! and by the way it is SIR STIRLING MOSS

Answer 5

Well said Rosbif.

Stirling drove in (and survived!) one of the most destructive era's in F1 and should be respect for that alone.



Until media commentators define a great as someone who defines an era in the sport they competed in, then we will have comments such as Sir Stirling's.

He isn't senile, he is someone who used to compete in a sport he holds great affection for. That he can watch Hamilton and appreciate the skill of a fellow driver from a era that is a world away from his shows he is still a racer and a teenage boy at heart.

And that, folks, is what it boils down to.

Answer 6

His opinions about Hamilton did sound premature.  I think he said something about Hamilton being the greatest thing EVER in F1.  

I don't give him legendary status as a driver.  He was a great driver, but zero world championships.  Sure he finished second to the greatest ever in Fangio, but for whatever reason he had 0 titles.

Therefore, I think his achievements in F1 put him closer to the overrated side than the side of all-time F1 legend.

It would be interesting to see how many F1 fans rate him so highly if he was not British.  That may also be true for Mansell and Hamilton.  What I mean is that not every British F1 fan is as objective as our friend rosbif.

Answer 7

A:

He may "only" have come second in the championship 4 times (and third 3 times), but:

1. He finished second in the championship to Fangio 3 times, and Fangio is the greatest driver there has ever been. Second to Fangio is no disgrace; it just means that he was unfortunate to drive in the same era as a driver who could have taken a tractor to the world title (and in fact did do just that in 1956).

2. The other occasion he was second, he outscored Hawthorn four wins to one...if only his Vanwall had been as reliable as the Ferrari he would have been champion by miles.

3. The three occasions he was third, he was running for private teams, not factory teams - that made a huge difference in the preparation of the cars available to him.

4. Moss was generally considered by his peers to be the best driver from the moment when Fangio retired to when he had his big accident...that is the opinion which really counts.

B:

His opinion on the best drivers of all time is no more biased and ridiculous than that of Jackie Stewart (and he's a decade older than Jackie), or indeed that of anybody who would put drivers such as Mansell, Hamilton or Hakkinen in the top 20 of all time.

Answer 8

Moss was very much the 'Beckham of his era'.

The first 'Stirling Moss Scrapbook' will feature 1955. This was a momentous year for Moss. Though seen as a great hope for the future, he was yet to establish himself as a top Grand Prix driver and a household name. By the end of 1955, he was both.

It was such a different world from that inhabited by the modern racing driver. Moss lived in an age when racing drivers were still allowed to have fun.

Full of period flavour, this series of books will capture the high octane atmosphere of the fifties and sixties.

Won his first Grand Prix - the British GP no less

Won the Mille Miglia - the 1,000 mile race on the roads on Italy

Won the Targa Florio - with 40+ mile circuit with hundreds of bends

Won the TT for the third time

Drove for the Mercedes-Benz works team alongside Fangio

Proved he was a more versatile racing driver than even the great Fangio