It appears that the latter pointed him out to Ferrari, who invited him to race with his single-seater in the Formula 1 Grand Prix at Bari in September, which didn’t count for the World Championship, with the prospect of a contract for 1952. It seemed the deal was done but it fell through due to a misunderstanding. Ferrari and Moss tried again 10 years later, at the end of 1961, when an agreement was reached to supply the Rob Walker team with a Formula 1 car and the British Racing Partnership (BRP) – the team of Alfred Moss, Stirling’s father – with a 250 GTO. When everything was ready, Moss was out of action, the victim of a terrible accident in a Lotus at Goodwood, which put an end to his career. That marriage could have changed the history of F1 and have delivered Moss the world title he never won, having only ever taken four second places. Nevertheless, Moss raced 15 times with Prancing Horse cars, winning 12; following the two victories in the Tourist Trophy with the 250 GT Berlinetta of Rob Walker in 1960 and 1961, everything was set for the agreement that unfortunately bore no fruit. The first time Moss raced a Ferrari was in 1957, in the Bahamas, when the Briton won two races in the Nassau Trophy at the wheel of a 290 MM belonging to the Temple Buell team. Then he triumphed in Cuba in 1958 with a 335 S entered by Luigi Chinetti. The first victory in the Tourist Trophy at Goodwood came in 1960, with the 250 GT Berlinetta of Rob Walker, which was followed by another at Brands Hatch in the Redex Trophy, and again in Nassau.

The Tourist Trophy was the most prestigious race in the UK, for which all the best British drivers lined up. The victory in 1960 was the first of an incredible five by Maranello, through to 1964. In 1961 Moss won again with Walker’s car, ahead of the sister car driven by Mike Parkes. At the start of the Tourist Trophy in 1962 he was replaced by Innes Ireland, who triumphed! It was a memorable edition, with an all-Ferrari podium: behind the 250 GTO of Ireland came the cars driven by Graham Hill and Mike Parkes who, in that order, went on to dominate the 1963 edition.Hill won again the following year this time at the wheel of the 330 P, ahead of David Piper, who was competing for his own team in a Ferrari 250 LM. Hill’s season continued with a second place in the 24 Hours of Le Mans with team-mate Joakim Bonnier. It was an all-Ferrari celebration, because victory went to Jean Guichet and Nino Vaccarella, while John Surtees and Lorenzo Bandini were third. It was a stunning hat trick for Maranello! The 250 GT Berlinetta (short wheelbase), with which Moss won in 1960 and 1961, occupies an important place in the history of the Prancing Horse. Presented at the Paris Motor Show in 1959, designed by Pinin Farina and built at the Carrozzeria Scaglietti, it perfectly encapsulates the idea of a road car that could triumph on track. It was the first Ferrari road car with standard disc brakes and was one of the most famous models to bear the 250 model-type name, the cars that from 1952 to 1963 were fitted with the 3000 cc V12 engine designed by Gioacchino Colombo.

1960 Masterpieces