BEN EDWARDS @benedwardstv
REMEMBERING A BRITISH GRAND PRIX GREAT
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. 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.
F1 in 1954 was different yet the fundamentals of delivering results were much the same. 30 front-engined cars lined up 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 p
