Sir Stirling Moss: Lewis Hamilton leads tributes to 'racing legend'

Formula 1's six-time champion Lewis Hamilton has paid tribute to his friend and "racing legend" Sir Stirling Moss.

Moss, the British racing driver who ranked as an all-time Formula 1 great despite never winning the world title, passed away on Easter Sunday, aged 90.

• Remembering Mr Motor Racing

"Today we say goodbye to Sir Stirling Moss, the racing legend," said Hamilton. "I think it's important that we celebrate his incredible life and the great man he was.

"Saying goodbye is never easy and can be sad but he will always be here, in our memories and will always be such a huge part of British Motorsports Heritage."

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Hamilton and Moss both drove for Mercedes, and became increasingly close after Lewis' move to the Silver Arrows in 2013.

"I certainly will miss our conversations," Hamilton added. "To be honest, it was such an unusual pairing, our friendship. Two people from massively different times and backgrounds but we clicked and ultimately found that the love for racing we both shared made us comrades.

"I am truly grateful to have had these special moments with him. Sending my prayers and thoughts to his family. May he rest in peace."

A team-mate at Mercedes to Argentine five-times world champion Juan Manuel Fangio, Moss survived one of the deadliest eras of motorsport with 16 grands prix wins in the 1950s and early 1960s.

Four times a championship runner-up, and also third overall on three occasions, no other driver has won as many races without taking the title.

Moss was the first Briton to win his home grand prix, beating Fangio at Liverpool's Aintree circuit for Mercedes in 1955, with his name becoming a byword for speed for a generation of fans.

He also won grands prix in Maserati, Vanwall, and Rob Walker-entered Cooper and Lotus cars.

'We will never see his like again'

Mercedes Team Principal and CEO Toto Wolff also paid tribute to a "larger-than-life figure" in Moss.

He said: "Sir Stirling was a larger-than-life figure in our sport and one of the survivors of an age when motor racing was about danger, bravery and camaraderie.

"But most of all, Stirling's career was characterised by an impeccable sportsmanship and in this he truly set himself apart.

"He was a great figure in the history of Mercedes, both as a Grand Prix driver and the winner of the 1955 Mille Miglia.

"It is no exaggeration to say that we will never see his like again. Our deepest condolences go to his wife Lady Susie, his family and his friends. Godspeed to a true racer."

Tributes to Moss from world of F1