From Moss to Mansel

Royal Mail the postal service of the United Kingdom issued a set of six stamps commemorating Britain’s Formula One greats in 2007.

By 2007,Britain had given the world with eight world champions, more than any other nation.With six slots for eight world champions, the stage was set for a philatelic battle royale.

The six stamps featured

1. Sir Stirling Moss in Vanwall, often tagged as the greatest driver never to have won the world title.World championship runner up four times in a row from 1955 to 1958.


2. Graham Hill in BRM, who loved the limelight, was a natural entertainer and became one of the first Formula One media stars.The only driver to have won the triple crown of  World Championship, Indy 500 and the Le Mans 24 Hours.He won the championship in 1962 and1968.


3. Jim Clark in Lotus, a driver who will always feature on top of any list of the greatest drivers of all time.He won two championships in 1963 and 1965.


4. Sir Jackie Stewart in Tyrell, think of "Flying Scott" and you think of a blue Tyrrell,sunglasses and sideburns.He won three World Championship in 1969,1971 and 1973.


5. James Hunt in McLaren,the coolest Formula 1 driver ever existed,lived life off the track as fast as he drove on it. He won the Formula One World Championship in 1976.


6. Nigel Mansell in Williams,one of the most exciting drivers whos career coincided with those of Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost. He won the Formula One World Championship in 1992.

Six stamps, eight British world champions at the time of publication, plus Moss. So who got the axe?

1. Mike Hawthorn, the first Brit to win the Formula One World Championship with Scuderia Ferrari in 1958.


2. John Surtees, the only person to win World Championship on both two and four wheels.He won the Championship with Scuderia Ferrari in 1964.


3. Damon Hill, son of Graham Hill,the only father and son pair to win the Formula One World Championship.He secured his 1996 world championship at the last race in Suzuka, having already been dropped by Williams for the following season.

The stamps were issued to mark the centenary of the race track at Brooklands and the 50th anniversary of Sir Stirling Moss winning the British Grand Prix in a British Car.

One can say that Hawthorn and Surtees won the championship with Scuderia Ferrari.As a result they did not feature in the list.But exclusion of Damon Hill is strange because he won it with Williams,a British Formula One motor racing team.