When Stirling Moss’s Silverstone near-miss launched him to F1 stardom

The thrill of seeing a British driver going well at Silverstone is always special. New F1 winner Lando Norris achieved his first British Grand Prix podium last year as Lewis Hamilton took his 13th, just a few seconds behind.

Now 70 years ago, Stirling Moss was on target for a first home world championship podium in a truly competitive F1 car. The event proved fundamental to his future as one of the greatest motorsport drivers ever seen, a career which earned a knighthood and which recently was remembered at a poignant memorial at Westminster Abbey to celebrate his life.

PLUS: Sir Stirling Moss' 10 greatest drives

F1 in 1954 was different yet the fundamentals of delivering results were much the same. There were 30 front-engined cars on the Silverstone grid for a race that was due to last almost three hours, with a variance in qualifying lap times in which the top 10 were separated by four seconds, far wider than the one-second gap from Max Verstappen to Pierre Gasly last year. Having narrower cars allowed four to line up side-by-side on the front row; perfect for Stirling having set the fourth-fastest time.

Moss was driving a Maserati 250F, an innovative car launched that season, but he wasn’t a works driver. His attempts to deliver world championship results in British-built racing cars up to the end of 1953 had been impressive but frustrating. He had won prestigious sportscar events but needed to demonstrate his top-level single-seater skills so, when recommended by Mercedes team boss Alfred Neubauer to find a competitive Italian car, his business supporter went on the search.

It was a different time in F1 when a driver spending money to take a step forward was possible, yet Maserati had only two cars for sale and it was Stirling’s obvious talent as well as his family’s initial funding that made it happen. Thankfully, he was already working with brilliant mechanic and engineer Alf Francis; and when Alf switched the 250F onto Pirelli tyres at their first event in France, Moss loved the feel of the car.

Stirling’s early season performance and his first world championship podium in Belgium encouraged Maserati to support him further going into the British GP. He was encouraged to use higher engine revs and the manufacturer was happy to pay if anything went wrong. The works team also updated his car with a first gear that allowed Moss to snatch second place off the line to the Ferrari of Jose Froilan Gonzalez at the start.

Given encouragement to push on by Maserati in his private 250F, Moss did just that at Silverstone

Photo by: LAT Photographic

The second Ferrari team driver and fellow Brit Mike Hawthorn soon slipped past, as did works Merc driver Juan Manuel Fangio, but Moss stayed in the game. When Fangio took second from Hawthorn, the 90,000 Silverstone spectators were engrossed in a new battle for third between their national heroes. Both future superstars swapped positions at one third distance until Moss used the extra revs to ease away.

Stirling was now catching the driver who was heading towards the second of five career world titles. Fangio’s Mercedes was using fully streamlined bodywork that covered the wheels, an aspect allowed
in the rules but which was proving to be a challenge for corner accuracy at Silverstone. On lap 55 out of 90 Moss passed his future team-mate to take second place, clearly spotted by the fans but also by the Mercedes boss.

Stirling was well positioned and set fastest lap but he wasn’t the only driver to do so. Timing at Silverstone was recorded to a rounded second rather than to a tenth or a hundredth – and in that race no fewer than seven drivers set a lap at 1m50s. If the same system had been in place last year, Verstappen’s fastest lap would have been matched by seven others.

Maserati thought it would have him as a factory driver for the following year but Alfred Neubauer offered him a deal at Mercedes that was even more tempting

With 10 laps to go, Stirling’s hopes of a podium disappeared; the Maserati suffered a rare transmission failure and he was out. His race had ended too soon and reliability issues were common: half of the starters failed to make the chequered flag. Compare this with this year’s season opener – all cars finished in Bahrain. Moss had been able to run strongly for nearly 90% of the race and it gave him a new level of respect from the team bosses.

His Silverstone heroics were backed up at Monza, where he led for 19 laps before an engine failure required him to push his own car across the line for 10th. Maserati thought it would have him as a factory driver for the following year but Alfred Neubauer offered him a deal at Mercedes that was even more tempting.

Moss took his first world championship win with Mercedes at Aintree in 1955 and therefore was the first home winner of a British GP. He won a further 15 times with different cars over the next six years, missing out on several titles by the narrowest of margins.

In 1962 he was due to race a Ferrari in F1, but an accident at Goodwood in a Lotus ended his racing career. He was a winner in road racing and rallying, a star in sportscars and single seaters. An all-rounder of breathtaking talent and Silverstone was a key part of his racing life, though he never won the British GP there.

Although Moss ultimately retired at Silverstone, his future in Grand Prix racing had been given a notable boost

Photo by: Michael Tee / Motorsport Images