Sir Stirling Craufurd Moss (17 September 1929 – 12 April 2020) was a British racing driver and broadcaster, who competed in Formula One from 1951 to 1961. Widely regarded as one of the greatest drivers to never win the Formula One World Drivers' Championship, Moss won a record 212 official races across several motorsport disciplines, including 16 Formula One Grands Prix. In endurance racing, Moss won the 12 Hours of Sebring in 1954, as well as the Mille Miglia in 1955 with Mercedes.

Born and raised in London, Moss was the son of amateur racing driver Alfred Moss and the older brother of rally driver Pat. Aged nine, Alfred bought him an Austin 7, which he raced around the field of the family's country house. Initially an equestrian, Moss used his winnings from horse riding competitions to purchase a Cooper 500 in 1948. He was immediately successful in motor racing, taking several wins in Formula Three at national and international levels, prior to his first major victory at the RAC Tourist Trophy in 1950, driving a Jaguar XK120. Moss made his Formula One debut at the 1951 Swiss Grand Prix with HWM, making several intermittent appearances before moving to Maserati in 1954, where he achieved his maiden podium at the Belgian Grand Prix. Moss joined Mercedes in 1955, taking his maiden win at the British Grand Prix as he finished runner-up in the championship to career rival Juan Manuel Fangio.

Moss again finished runner-up to Fangio in 1956 and 1957 with Maserati and Vanwall, winning multiple Grands Prix across both seasons. He took four wins in his 1958 campaign, but lost out on the title again to Mike Hawthorn by one point. From 1959 to 1961, Moss competed for Walker, taking multiple wins in each as he finished third in the World Drivers' Championship three times. Moss retired from motor racing in 1962, after an accident at the non-championship Glover Trophy left him in a coma for a month and temporarily paralysed. He achieved 16 wins, 16 pole positions, 19 fastest laps and 24 podium finishes in Formula One, the former of which remains the record for a non-World Drivers' Champion. Moss was a three-time winner of the Monaco Grand Prix, four-time winner of the British Empire Trophy, and five-time winner of the International Gold Cup. He also contested the World Sportscar Championship from 1953 to 1962, winning 12 races with various manufacturers. In rallying, Moss finished runner-up at the Monte Carlo Rally in 1952. Throughout his career, he broke several land speed records across different categories.

In British popular culture, Moss was a widely recognised public figure, with his name becoming synonymous with speed in the mid-20th century. He made several media appearances, including in the James Bond film Casino Royale (1967), and was named BBC Sports Personality of the Year in 1961. Upon retiring from motor racing, Moss established a career as a commentator and pundit for ABC. Moss was inducted into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame in 1990.

Moss was born in London to amateur racing drivers Alfred and Aileen Moss (née Craufurd). His grandfather was Jewish and from a family that changed their surname from Moses to Moss. He was brought up at Long White Cloud house on the south bank of the River Thames. His father was an amateur racing driver, who had come 16th in the 1924 Indianapolis 500, and his mother had also been involved in motorsport, entering into hillclimbs at the wheel of a Singer Nine. Moss was a gifted horse rider, as was his younger sister, Pat Moss, who went on to become a successful rally driver.

Moss was educated at several independent schools: Shrewsbury House School, Clewer Manor Junior School, and Haileybury and Imperial Service College. He disliked school and did not get good grades. At Haileybury, he was subjected to bullying due to his Jewish roots. He concealed the bullying from his parents and used it as "motivation to succeed". Moss received his first car, an Austin 7, from his father at the age of nine and drove it on the fields around Long White Cloud. He purchased his own car at age 15 after he obtained a driving licence.

Moss raced from 1948 to 1962, winning 212 of the 529 races he entered, including 16 Formula One Grands Prix. He competed in as many as 62 races in one year and drove 84 different makes of car over the course of his career. He preferred to race British cars, stating: "It is better to lose honourably in a British car than to win in a foreign one." At Vanwall, he was instrumental in breaking the German and Italian stranglehold on F1. He kept his record of the most Formula One Grand Prix victories by an English driver until 1991, when Nigel Mansell overtook him.

Moss began his career at the wheel of his father's 328 BMW, DPX 653. Moss was one of the Cooper Car Company's first customers, using winnings from competing in horse-riding events to pay the deposit on a Cooper 500 in 1948. He then persuaded his father, who opposed his son's racing career and wanted him to become a dentist, to let him buy it. He soon demonstrated his natural talent and ability with numerous wins at both the national and international levels, and continued to compete in Formula Three, with Coopers and Kiefts, after he had progressed to more senior categories.