F1 champions attend Stirling Moss memorial service at Westminster Abbey

F1

Four years after his death, the racing world is paying tribute to Sir Stirling Moss at a Westminster Abbey memorial service

Jackie Stewart with Elliot Moss and Nigel Mansell inset

Jackie Stewart with Stirling Moss's son, Elliot and the 1955 Mille-Miglia-winning Mercedes 300 SLR. Inset, Nigel Mansell

Bryn Lennon/Getty Images

Jackie Stewart, Nigel Mansell and Damon Hill were among the world champions arriving at Westminster Abbey this morning, joining other senior motor racing figures, famous faces, and fans to celebrate the life of Stirling Moss.

The expected congregation of more than 2000 guests passed a display of some of Moss’s most successful cars, including his 1955 Mille Miglia-winning Mercedes, on their way into the Abbey for the memorial service.

Moss’s death, at the age of 90, came during the Covid pandemic, preventing his life being marked in a manner befitting his era-defining achievements in Formula 1, endurance racers, GT and touring cars, as well as rallying, all crowned by a victory at record-breaking pace in the 1955 Mille Miglia alongside Motor Sport‘s Denis Jenkinson.

Now that is being rectified as Stirling’s son, Stirling Elliot Moss, and Helen Jane Moss, his daughter-in-law, give their father the long overdue send-off he has always deserved.

Jackie Stewart with Elliot Moss and Oscar Fangio

Stewart with Elliot Moss and Oscar Fangio, holding a signed picture of their fathers

Bryn Lennon/Getty Images

Outside the Abbey, Elliot Moss — who goes by his middle name — was joined by Oscar Fangio, the son of his father’s hero and Mercedes team-mate, Juan Manuel Fangio. The pair held a picture that had been signed by both of their fathers, and stood alongside Jackie Stewart, who is due to address the service.

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Other well known racing fans attending the service include actor Rowan Atkinson, Pink Floyd drummer Nick Mason and Grand Tour presenter Richard Hammond. Red Bull team principal Christian Horner is also among the congregation, along with former team boss and F1 managing director, Ross Brawn and Lewis Hamilton‘s father, Anthony.

Ahead of today’s thanksgiving event, Elliot Moss spoke about finally being able to mark the extraordinary life of Britain’s greatest all-round racer. “To be able to do this for my father – a man I admired in just about every way and one whom I still miss very much – is an unimaginable honour”,  he said. “I know that I am not alone in either of those sentiments, so it is fitting that this service will celebrate his life and allow so many of those who feel as I do, to be able to pay their respects and come together to remember the astonishing and inspirational man that he was.”

The service is celebrating Moss’s life “as a racer, friend, father, gentleman, joker, and international icon”. In addition to Sir Jackie, speakers at the service will include motor sport journalist and commentator Simon Taylor, as well as the Duke of Richmond and Gordon, owner of the Goodwood Estate.

The cars displayed outside the Abbey include a Lotus 18, as raced by Moss to a famous victory in the 1961 Monaco Grand Prix; Moss’s 1960 Goodwood Tourist Trophy-winning Ferrari 250GT SWB; and the Cooper T53 Lowline that Moss drove to a magnificent victory in the 1961 BRDC International Trophy. It was also the car in which he claimed his final victory, in the Australian Warwick Park 100 Mile race.

The Mille Miglia-winning Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR, still carrying the number 722, returns to central London after its final run through the capital to Moss’s family home in 2021.

Stirling Moss Mille Miglia winning 1955 Mercedes 300 SLR outside Westminster Abbey

The Mercedes 300 SLR that Moss drove to his defining victory in the 1955 Mille Miglia, alongside Denis Jenkinson

Mark Cuthbert/UK Press via Getty

Ferrari 250GT SWB that won Goodwood Tourist Trophy with Stirling Moss

The TT-winning Ferrari 250 GT SWB

Stirling Moss 1961 Monaco GP winning Lotus 18

Moss won at Monaco in 1961 with Lotus 18

The Royal Automobile Club is also be marking the occasion by displaying two cars in its Rotunda: a Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Gullwing Coupe and a Mercedes-Benz W 196. From tomorrow, for one week, the Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR ‘722’ will also be on display at the Club.

“Sir Stirling Moss was one of the greatest racing drivers of all time,” said Marcus Breitschwerdt, head of Mercedes-Benz Heritage. “As an icon of sportsmanship and dedication, he captivated audiences with thrilling performances on the track and his charismatic personality off it.

“Mercedes-Benz will always keep the memory of this exceptional racing driver alive. This includes the 300 SLR racing sports car with starting number 722 from the 1955 Mille Miglia. In this car, Stirling Moss and Denis Jenkinson won the iconic street race in the best time ever achieved.”

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