Classic racing cars and champion drivers, as well as royalty and celebrities gathered in Westminster to celebrate the life of motorsport legend, Sir Stirling Moss.
Nearly 2,000 people, including Red Bull team principal Christian Horner and former Formula 1 world champions Nigel Mansell and Damon Hill, attended the memorial service.
Moss died at the age of 90 in April 2020 after a long illness; any tribute in his honor had to be postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Three-time world champion Sir Jackie Stewart, 84, who was sitting next to the Duke of Kent, said at the memorial: “There will never be Stirling Moss again.
“He drove well, he presented himself well, he dressed well, and he was just a character. I don’t think there’s been anyone in the history of the sport who has enjoyed it so much and continues to enjoy it so much. “
“It is glorious for Britain to have such a well-known Briton. It will never be forgotten. “
Among the carriages outside Westminster Abbey, where the service of thanksgiving for his life and painting was held, were some of the most prominent carriages driven by Moss throughout his remarkable career.
The exhibition included the iconic Mille Miglia winning Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR ‘722’, presented through Mercedes-Benz Heritage, a Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Gullwing Coupe and a Mercedes-Benz W 196.
Prince Michael of Kent, Anthony, the father of current Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton, former Ferrari technical director Ross Brawn, and actor Rowan Atkinson also attended the ceremony.
Moss has never won an F1 world championship, but his remarkable driving ability sets him apart from his peers.
Enzo Ferrari, the founder of Italian motorsport giants, described Moss as the world’s greatest driving force. Five-time world champion Juan Manuel Fangio called Moss the one of his time.
Moss’s motor racing career ended on Easter Monday 1962 when he got out of his car following a terrifying 100mph crash at Goodwood that nearly killed him.
He tried to try the wheel again, but at the age of 32, he nevertheless managed to reach the most sensible competition reluctantly.
Despite his official retirement, Moss continued to compete until he was 81 years old. But in the post-war years, when he brought British fame around the world, Moss amassed a record 212 wins in 529 races over 15 glittering seasons.
He raced in all kinds of cars, and perhaps his most notable and greatest victory of all the 1955 Mille Miglia, in which he drove 1,000 miles of open Italian roads at an average speed of 97. 96 mph in 10 hours, seven minutes and 48 seconds. .