179-588: The Belgian Grand Prix ( French : Grand Prix de Belgique ; Dutch : Grote Prijs van België ; German : Großer Preis von Belgien ) is a motor racing event which forms part of the Formula One World Championship. The first national race of Belgium was held in 1925 at the Spa region's race course, an area of the country that had been associated with motor sport since the very early years of racing. To accommodate Grand Prix motor racing ,
358-533: A Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR ), 1958 and 1959 (with an Aston Martin DBR1 ), and 1960 and 1961 (with a Ferrari 250 GT ). Enzo Ferrari , the founder of Ferrari , approached Moss and offered him a Formula Two car to drive at the 1951 Bari Grand Prix before a full-season in 1952. Moss and his father went to Apulia only to find out that the Ferrari car was to be driven by Piero Taruffi and were incensed. Also
537-563: A windscreen . In 2016, in an academic paper that reported a mathematical modelling study that assessed the relative influence of driver and machine, Moss was ranked the 29th best Formula One driver of all time. Following Moss's death, the Kinrara Trophy race at the Goodwood Revival meeting was renamed in his honour. It is a race for GT cars that competed before 1963. In 1957, Moss published an autobiography called In
716-487: A 25-second penalty, considered a drive-through penalty under the regulations, for Hamilton's pass on Räikkönen after they had deemed that Hamilton had cut a corner in the Bus Stop chicane. This left Hamilton in third place behind Ferrari's Felipe Massa and BMW Sauber's Nick Heidfeld. The penalty cut Hamilton's lead over Massa to just two points with five races remaining. McLaren appealed the decision but were turned down as it
895-494: A Cooper, was fighting for sixth with Belgian Willy Mairesse . Bristow had never driven at Spa before, and was regarded as a brash and daring driver who had a reputation for being rather wild; the relatively inexperienced 22-year-old Englishman had been in many accidents during his short career. Mairesse was also known as an aggressive driver who had a win-at-all-costs mentality and was known to be difficult to pass, particularly on his home track. Bristow and Mairesse touched wheels, and
1074-744: A French official to teachers in the department of Finistère , in western Brittany, included the following: "And remember, Gents: you were given your position in order to kill the Breton language". The prefect of Basses-Pyrénées in the French Basque Country wrote in 1846: "Our schools in the Basque Country are particularly meant to replace the Basque language with French..." Students were taught that their ancestral languages were inferior and they should be ashamed of them; this process
1253-529: A Lotus, suffered a steering failure and crashed into trees next to the track near Stavelot. Taylor then was trapped in the car for some time with serious head and neck injuries. The accident ended his racing career; he later successfully sued Lotus founder Colin Chapman in British court for sale of faulty machinery. The race itself, however, was to be even more disastrous. On lap 17, Briton Chris Bristow , driving
1432-513: A Matra. Come race day, McLaren won their first ever victory as a constructor, with its founder Bruce McLaren winning – but the race saw yet another serious accident. Briton Brian Redman crashed his works Cooper heavily at high speed into a parked Ford Cortina road car at Burnenville, and the Cooper caught fire. He was seriously burned and also badly broke his right arm; he did not race for most of that year. The following season, safety issues came to
1611-610: A Mercedes-Benz but retired from the event in the Algerian Sahara. The Holden Torana he shared with Jack Brabham in the 1976 Bathurst 1000 was hit from behind on the grid and eventually retired with engine failure. Moss, at the wheel of the Torana when the Holden V8 ;engine let go, was criticised by other drivers for staying on the racing line for over 2/3 of the 6.172 km long circuit while returning to
1790-625: A car that might be on fire to reduce the chance of injury or death. During practice, Stirling Moss, now driving a privately entered Lotus, had a wheel come off his car and he crashed heavily at the Burnenville right-hander. Moss, who was considered one of the best racing drivers in the world at the time, was thrown out of his car and landed unconscious in the middle of the track. The Englishman broke both legs, three vertebrae, several ribs and had many cuts and abrasions; he survived but did not race for most of that year. Briton Mike Taylor, also driving
1969-661: A competent rally driver, Moss was one of three people to have won a Coupe d'Or for three consecutive penalty-free runs on the Alpine Rally . He finished second in the 1952 Monte Carlo Rally ; driving a Sunbeam-Talbot 90 with Desmond Scannell and John Cooper as his co-drivers. In 1954, he became the first non-American to win the 12 Hours of Sebring , sharing the Cunningham team's 1.5-litre O.S.C.A. MT4 with Bill Lloyd. In 1953, Mercedes-Benz racing boss Alfred Neubauer had spoken to Moss's manager, Ken Gregory, about
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#17327933605592148-431: A comprehensive academic study entitled "The World's 10 most influential languages". In the article, Weber ranked French as, after English, the second-most influential language of the world, ahead of Spanish. His criteria were the numbers of native speakers, the number of secondary speakers (especially high for French among fellow world languages), the number of countries using the language and their respective populations,
2327-584: A favourite of drivers and fans. In 1925, the first Belgian Grand Prix was held at the very fast, 9-mile Spa-Francorchamps circuit located in the Ardennes region of eastern Belgium, about half an hour from Liege. This race was won by the Italian works Alfa driver Antonio Ascari , whose son Alberto would win the race in 1952 and 1953. After winning the Belgian race, Antonio Ascari was killed in his next race at
2506-555: A foreign language. Due to the rise of French in Africa, the total French-speaking population worldwide is expected to reach 700 million people in 2050. French is the fastest growing language on the continent (in terms of either official or foreign languages). French is increasingly being spoken as a native language in Francophone Africa, especially in regions like Ivory Coast , Cameroon , Gabon, Madagascar , and
2685-538: A head. Average lap speeds were past 150 mph (240 km/h), but the circuit still had virtually no safety features and as a result the race over the years was becoming less and less popular with the drivers. The Grand Prix was scheduled for 8 June 1969 as part of that year's season . When Jackie Stewart visited the circuit on behalf of the Grand Prix Drivers' Association he demanded many improvements to safety barriers and road surfaces, in order to make
2864-403: A heterosexual as he had spent his life "chasing crumpet and racing cars". Moss also believed that women lack the "mental aptitude" for Formula One. Moss's 80th birthday, on 17 September 2009, fell on the eve of the Goodwood Revival and Lord March celebrated with an 80-car parade on each of the three days. Moss drove a different car each day: a Mercedes-Benz W196 (an open-wheel variant),
3043-462: A month, and for six months the left side of his body was paralysed. He recovered but retired from professional racing after a test session in a Lotus 19 the following year, when he lapped a few tenths of a second slower than before. He felt that he had not regained his instinctive command of the car after recovering from the coma. He had been runner-up in the Drivers' Championship four years in
3222-705: A period of prosperity and prominence among European nations. Richelieu established the Académie française to protect the French language. By the early 1800s, Parisian French had become the primary language of the aristocracy in France. Near the beginning of the 19th century, the French government began to pursue policies with the end goal of eradicating the many minorities and regional languages ( patois ) spoken in France. This began in 1794 with Henri Grégoire 's "Report on
3401-411: A race he was also the first British driver to win. Leading a 1–2–3–4 finish for Mercedes, it was the first time he had beaten Fangio, his teammate, rival, friend and mentor. It has been suggested that Fangio allowed Moss to win in front of his home crowd. Moss himself asked Fangio this repeatedly, and Fangio would always reply with: "No. You were just better than me that day." The same year, Moss also won
3580-647: A rear-engined F1 car, which became the common design by 1961. At Monza that year, he raced in the Maserati ;420M in the Race of Two Worlds , the first single-seater car in Europe to be sponsored by a non-racing brand – the Eldorado Ice Cream Company. This was the first case in Europe of contemporary sponsorship, with the ice-cream maker's colors replacing the ones assigned by
3759-545: 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
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#17327933605593938-494: A relic of the old nominal case system of Latin longer than most other Romance languages (with the notable exception of Romanian which still currently maintains a case distinction), differentiating between an oblique case and a nominative case. The phonology was characterized by heavy syllabic stress, which led to the emergence of various complicated diphthongs such as -eau which would later be leveled to monophthongs. The earliest evidence of what became Old French can be seen in
4117-547: A reputation as a totally unforgiving, frightening and a very mentally challenging circuit, even in those safety-absent days, and most racing events there – particularly the Belgian Grand Prix at Spa – had smaller-than-average fields because a number of drivers feared the circuit and did not like racing there. The layout was still the same as before, and the extremely small, almost non-existent margin for error as described before had been realised very quickly. The circuit
4296-683: A result of French and Belgian colonialism from the 16th century onward, French was introduced to new territories in the Americas, Africa, and Asia. French has a long history as an international language of literature and scientific standards and is a primary or second language of many international organisations including the United Nations , the European Union, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization ,
4475-592: A row (1962–1965). Teams in bold are competing in the Formula One championship in the current season. A pink background indicates an event which was not part of the Formula One World Championship. A yellow background indicates an event which was part of the pre- war European Championship. Manufacturers in bold are competing in the Formula One championship in the current season. A pink background indicates an event which
4654-467: A row, from 1955 to 1958, and third from 1959 to 1961. At the Autodrome de Montlhéry , a steeply banked oval track near Paris, Moss and Leslie Johnson took turns at the wheel of the latter's Jaguar XK120 to average 107.46 mph (172.94 km/h) for 24 hours, including stops for fuel and tyres. Changing drivers every three hours, they covered a total of 2,579.16 miles (4,150.76 km). It
4833-518: A row. Frequently drivers confront a part of the course that is clear and bright while another stretch is rainy and slippery. The Belgian Grand Prix was designated the European Grand Prix six times between 1925 and 1973, when this title was an honorary designation given each year to one Grand Prix race in Europe. It is one of the most popular races on the Formula One calendar, due to the scenic and historical Spa-Francorchamps circuit being
5012-616: A telegraph pole, and dropped into a much lower part of the circuit where the car landed upside down. The BRM Stewart was driving had bent itself over his legs, so he could not get out by himself and the Scot ended up being stuck in his car for nearly 30 minutes. The fuel tanks, which were bags located inside the car that flanked the driver, had ruptured and were soaking him with flammable fuel, and he also had broken ribs and collarbone. Stewart's BRM teammate Graham Hill and Bob Bondurant , both of whom had gone off near Stewart, came to help. Because of
5191-514: A total of 16,851.73 mi (27,120.23 km). In August, Moss broke five International Class F records in the purpose-built MG EX181 at Bonneville Salt Flats . The streamlined, supercharged car's speed for the flying kilometre was 245.64 mph (395.32 km/h), which was the average of two runs in opposite directions. Away from driving, in 1962 he acted as a colour commentator for ABC's Wide World of Sports for Formula One and NASCAR races. He eventually left ABC in 1980. Moss narrated
5370-547: A variant of Canadian French , is spoken in parts of New England . Missouri French was historically spoken in Missouri and Illinois (formerly known as Upper Louisiana ), but is nearly extinct today. French also survived in isolated pockets along the Gulf Coast of what was previously French Lower Louisiana , such as Mon Louis Island , Alabama and DeLisle, Mississippi (the latter only being discovered by linguists in
5549-472: A wet/dry race, driving a Lotus. Nigel Mansell dominated the 1986 event, and he and Senna took each other out the following year when Mansell attempted to pass the Brazilian on the outside of a wide corner. Senna won the next four Belgian Grands Prix, the first two being rain-soaked events. The 1988 event was the first Belgian Grand Prix to be held in late August/early September instead of May or June (excluding
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5728-457: A working language along with English and German ; in some institutions, French is the sole working language (e.g. at the Court of Justice of the European Union ). French is also the 16th most natively spoken language in the world, the sixth most spoken language by total number of speakers , and is among the top five most studied languages worldwide, with about 120 million learners as of 2017. As
5907-457: A works Lotus, suffered a freak accident when he was hit in the face by a bird on the Masta straight not far from where Bristow had been killed. Stacey then lost control of his car at 140 mph (228 km/h) and it climbed up and flew off an embankment next to the track. After penetrating 10 feet of thick bushes, the car landed on a spot in a field some 25 feet lower than the track. On impact with
6086-437: Is 95%, and in the French collectivity of Wallis and Futuna , it is 84%. In French Polynesia and to a lesser extent Wallis and Futuna, where oral and written knowledge of the French language has become almost universal (95% and 84% respectively), French increasingly tends to displace the native Polynesian languages as the language most spoken at home. In French Polynesia, the percentage of the population who reported that French
6265-472: Is a widespread second language among the Lebanese people , and is taught in many schools along with Arabic and English. French is used on Lebanese pound banknotes, on road signs, on Lebanese license plates , and on official buildings (alongside Arabic). Today, French and English are secondary languages of Lebanon , with about 40% of the population being Francophone and 40% Anglophone. The use of English
6444-489: Is also a working language in nonprofit organisations such as the Red Cross (alongside English, German, Spanish, Portuguese, Arabic and Russian), Amnesty International (alongside 32 other languages of which English is the most used, followed by Spanish, Portuguese, German, and Italian), Médecins sans Frontières (used alongside English, Spanish, Portuguese and Arabic), and Médecins du Monde (used alongside English). Given
6623-652: Is enacted only in New Brunswick, where about one third of the population is Francophone. French is also an official language of all of the territories ( Northwest Territories , Nunavut , and Yukon ). Out of the three, Yukon has the most French speakers, making up just under 4% of the population. Furthermore, while French is not an official language in Ontario , the French Language Services Act ensures that provincial services are available in
6802-563: Is growing in the business and media environment. Out of about 900,000 students, about 500,000 are enrolled in Francophone schools, public or private, in which the teaching of mathematics and scientific subjects is provided in French. Actual usage of French varies depending on the region and social status. One-third of high school students educated in French go on to pursue higher education in English-speaking institutions. English
6981-404: Is known as Old French. The period of Old French spanned between the 8th and 14th centuries. Old French shared many characteristics with Latin. For example, Old French made use of different possible word orders just as Latin did because it had a case system that retained the difference between nominative subjects and oblique non-subjects . The period is marked by a heavy superstrate influence from
7160-606: Is not permissible to appeal drive-through penalties. The stewards' decision was criticised by former world champion Niki Lauda calling it "completely wrong". In 2009, Bernie Ecclestone said in an interview that he would like the Belgian Grand Prix to rotate with a Grand Prix at the Nürburgring , rather than the Nürburgring rotating with the Hockenheimring . This rotation never eventualised and as of June 2020
7339-469: Is often considered to be a useful skill by business owners in the United Kingdom; a 2014 study found that 50% of British managers considered French to be a valuable asset for their business, thus ranking French as the most sought-after foreign language there, ahead of German (49%) and Spanish (44%). MIT economist Albert Saiz calculated a 2.3% premium for those who have French as a foreign language in
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7518-828: Is one of the official languages of such major international and regional courts, tribunals, and dispute-settlement bodies as the African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights , the Caribbean Court of Justice , the Court of Justice for the Economic Community of West African States , the Inter-American Court of Human Rights , the International Court of Justice , the International Criminal Tribunal for
7697-639: Is taught in universities around the world, and is one of the world's most influential languages because of its wide use in the worlds of journalism, jurisprudence , education, and diplomacy. In diplomacy, French is one of the six official languages of the United Nations (and one of the UN Secretariat 's only two working languages ), one of twenty official and three procedural languages of the European Union , an official language of NATO ,
7876-553: Is the language of business and communication, with French being an element of social distinction, chosen for its emotional value. French is an official language of the Pacific Island nation of Vanuatu , where 31% of the population was estimated to speak it in 2023. In the French special collectivity of New Caledonia , 97% of the population can speak, read and write French while in French Polynesia this figure
8055-483: Is the native language of about 23% of the Swiss population, and is spoken by 50% of the population. Along with Luxembourgish and German, French is one of the three official languages of Luxembourg , where it is generally the preferred language of business as well as of the different public administrations. It is also the official language of Monaco . At a regional level, French is acknowledged as an official language in
8234-492: Is the second-most spoken language (after English) in the states of Maine and New Hampshire . In Louisiana , it is tied with Spanish for second-most spoken if Louisiana French and all creoles such as Haitian are included. French is the third most spoken language (after English and Spanish) in the states of Connecticut , Rhode Island , and New Hampshire . Louisiana is home to many distinct French dialects, collectively known as Louisiana French . New England French , essentially
8413-424: Is the sole official language in the province of Quebec , where some 80% of the population speak it as a native language and 95% are capable of conducting a conversation in it. Quebec is also home to the city of Montreal , which is the world's fourth-largest French-speaking city, by number of first language speakers. New Brunswick and Manitoba are the only officially bilingual provinces, though full bilingualism
8592-523: The 1925 French Grand Prix . The Grand Prix did not come back until 1930, and the circuit had been modified, bypassing the Malmedy chicane. The race was won by Louis Chiron, and in 1931, the Grand Prix had become something of an endurance race, with Briton William Grover-Williams and Caberto Conelli winning. 1933 was won by Tazio Nuvolari, and 1935 was won by Rudolf Caracciola in a Mercedes, by which time
8771-641: The 1951 Swiss Grand Prix with HWM , making several intermittent appearances before moving to Maserati in 1954 , achieving 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
8950-544: The 1958 season, 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 podiums in Formula One,
9129-764: The Aosta Valley region of Italy where it is the first language of approximately 50% of the population, while French dialects remain spoken by minorities on the Channel Islands . It is also spoken in Andorra and is the main language after Catalan in El Pas de la Casa . The language is taught as the primary second language in the German state of Saarland , with French being taught from pre-school and over 43% of citizens being able to speak French. The majority of
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#17327933605599308-544: The Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps race course was built in 1921 but until 1924 it was used only for motorcycle racing. After the 1923 success of the new 24 hours of Le Mans in France, the Spa 24 Hours , a similar 24-hour endurance race, was run at the Spa track. Since its inception, Spa-Francorchamps has been known for its unpredictable weather. At one stage in its history it had rained at the Belgian Grand Prix for twenty years in
9487-609: The Democratic Republic of Congo . There is not a single African French , but multiple forms that diverged through contact with various indigenous African languages . Sub-Saharan Africa is the region where the French language is most likely to expand, because of the expansion of education and rapid population growth. It is also where the language has evolved the most in recent years. Some vernacular forms of French in Africa can be difficult to understand for French speakers from other countries, but written forms of
9666-464: The Democratic Republic of the Congo . In some North African countries, though not having official status, it is also a first language among some upper classes of the population alongside indigenous languages, but only a second one among the general population. In 2015, approximately 40% of the Francophone population (including L2 and partial speakers) lived in Europe, 36% in sub-Saharan Africa and
9845-533: The European Union , French was the dominant language within all institutions until the 1990s. After several enlargements of the EU (1995, 2004), French significantly lost ground in favour of English, which is more widely spoken and taught in most EU countries. French currently remains one of the three working languages, or "procedural languages", of the EU, along with English and German. It is the second-most widely used language within EU institutions after English, but remains
10024-586: The Ferrari ;156 with an all-new V6 engine . Moss's Climax-engined Lotus was comparatively underpowered, but he won the 1961 Monaco Grand Prix by 3.6 seconds, beating the Ferraris of Richie Ginther , Wolfgang von Trips , and Phil Hill , and he went on to win the 1961 German Grand Prix . In 1962, Moss crashed his Lotus in the Glover Trophy . The accident put him in a coma for
10203-559: The Francien dialect is one that not only continued but also thrived during the Middle French period (14th–17th centuries). Modern French grew out of this Francien dialect. Grammatically, during the period of Middle French, noun declensions were lost and there began to be standardized rules. Robert Estienne published the first Latin-French dictionary, which included information about phonetics, etymology, and grammar. Politically,
10382-877: The International Olympic Committee , the Council of Europe , the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development , Organization of American States (alongside Spanish, Portuguese and English), the Eurovision Song Contest , one of eighteen official languages of the European Space Agency , World Trade Organization and the least used of the three official languages in the North American Free Trade Agreement countries. It
10561-600: The Lotus 18 in which he had won the 1961 Monaco GP, and an Aston Martin DBR1 . On 7 March 2010, Moss broke both ankles and four bones in a foot, and also chipped four vertebrae and suffered skin lesions, when he plunged down a lift shaft at his home. In December 2016, he was admitted to hospital in Singapore with a serious chest infection. As a result of this illness and a subsequent lengthy recovery period, Moss announced his retirement from public life in January 2018. Moss died of cardio-respiratory failure at his home in Mayfair , London, on 12 April 2020, aged 90, after
10740-405: The Monaco Grand Prix in Rob Walker 's Coventry-Climax -powered Lotus 18 . Seriously injured in an accident at the Burnenville curve during practice for the Belgian Grand Prix , he missed the next three races but recovered sufficiently to win the final one of the season, the United States Grand Prix . For the 1961 Formula One season, run under new 1.5-litre rules, Enzo Ferrari fielded
10919-420: The Oaths of Strasbourg and the Sequence of Saint Eulalia , while Old French literature began to be produced in the eleventh century, with major early works often focusing on the lives of saints (such as the Vie de Saint Alexis ), or wars and royal courts, notably including the Chanson de Roland , epic cycles focused on King Arthur and his court , as well as a cycle focused on William of Orange . It
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#173279336055911098-428: The Vulgar Latin of the Roman Empire . French evolved from Gallo-Romance , the Latin spoken in Gaul , and more specifically in Northern Gaul. Its closest relatives are the other langues d'oïl —languages historically spoken in northern France and in southern Belgium, which French ( Francien ) largely supplanted. French was also influenced by native Celtic languages of Northern Roman Gaul like Gallia Belgica and by
11277-436: The World Trade Organization , the International Olympic Committee , the General Conference on Weights and Measures , and the International Committee of the Red Cross . French is a Romance language (meaning that it is descended primarily from Vulgar Latin ) that evolved out of the Gallo-Romance dialects spoken in northern France. The language's early forms include Old French and Middle French . Due to Roman rule, Latin
11456-497: The provinces of Quebec, Ontario, and New Brunswick); Belgium ( Wallonia and the Brussels-Capital Region ); western Switzerland (specifically the cantons forming the Romandy region); parts of Luxembourg; parts of the United States (the states of Louisiana, Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont); Monaco; the Aosta Valley region of Italy; and various communities elsewhere. French is estimated to have about 310 million speakers, of which about 80 million are native speakers. According to
11635-427: The ( Germanic ) Frankish language of the post-Roman Frankish invaders. Today, owing to the French colonial empire , there are numerous French-based creole languages , most notably Haitian Creole . A French-speaking person or nation may be referred to as Francophone in both English and French. French is an official language in 27 countries , as well as one of the most geographically widespread languages in
11814-431: The 1964 film The Beauty Jungle and was one of several celebrities with cameo appearances in the 1967 version of the James Bond film Casino Royale . He played Evelyn Tremble's ( Peter Sellers ) driver. For many years during and after his career, the rhetorical phrase "Who do you think you are, Stirling Moss?" was supposedly the standard question all British policemen asked speeding motorists. Moss relates he himself
11993-407: The 1981 season Moss stayed with Audi, as the team moved to Tom Walkinshaw Racing management, driving alongside Martin Brundle . Throughout his retirement he raced in events for historic cars, driving on behalf of and at the invitation of others, as well as campaigning his own OSCA FS 372 and other vehicles. In 2004, as part of its promotion for the new SLR, Mercedes-Benz reunited Moss with
12172-455: The 1990s) but these varieties are severely endangered or presumed extinct. French is one of two official languages in Haiti alongside Haitian Creole . It is the principal language of education, administration, business, and public signage and is spoken by all educated Haitians. It is also used for ceremonial events such as weddings, graduations, and church masses. The vast majority of the population speaks Haitian Creole as their first language;
12351-408: The 1993 event after battling with Senna and Schumacher. 1994 saw a chicane installed at the bottom of Eau Rouge in response to the deaths of Ayrton Senna and Roland Ratzenberger at Imola that year. 1995 saw the chicane gone, and Schumacher won this and the next two Belgian Grands Prix. The 1998 event ran in torrential conditions. The race was originally stopped after an accident involving thirteen of
12530-409: The 2005 Segrave Trophy . In 2006, Moss was awarded the FIA gold medal in recognition of his outstanding contribution to motorsport. In December 2008, McLaren - Mercedes unveiled their final model of the Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren . The model was named in honour of Moss, hence, Mercedes McLaren SLR Stirling Moss , which has a top speed of 217 mph (349 km/h) with wind deflectors instead of
12709-474: The 20th century, when it was replaced by English as the United States became the dominant global power following the Second World War . Stanley Meisler of the Los Angeles Times said that the fact that the Treaty of Versailles was written in English as well as French was the "first diplomatic blow" against the language. During the Grand Siècle (17th century), France, under the rule of powerful leaders such as Cardinal Richelieu and Louis XIV , enjoyed
12888-582: The 300 SLR "No. 722" in which he won the Mille Miglia nearly 50 years earlier. One reporter who rode with Moss that day noted that the 75-year-old driver was "so good ... that even old and crippled [he was] still better than nearly everyone else". On 9 June 2011 during qualifying for the Le Mans Legends race, Moss announced on Radio Le Mans that he had finally retired from racing, saying that he had scared himself that afternoon. He
13067-517: The Belgian Grand Prix did not return until June 1946, when the 2 to 4.5 litres race at the Bois de la Cambre public park in the Belgian capital of Brussels was won by Frenchman Eugène Chaboud in a Delage. Spa was modified to make it even faster, shortening it to 8.7 miles (14.1 km). All of the slow corners were taken out – the Stavelot hairpin was bypassed and made into a fast banked corner and
13246-462: The Belgian Grand Prix is contracted to be held through 2022. The 2021 race became particularly notable for becoming the shortest Formula One World Championship race in history and the only World Championship Grand Prix not to have any running under full green flag conditions in its duration with only two full completed laps completed behind the safety car before the race was red-flagged on lap 3 and not restarted due to adverse weather conditions with
13425-766: The Canadian capital, is also effectively bilingual, as it has a large population of federal government workers, who are required to offer services in both French and English, and is just across the river from the Quebecois city of Gatineau . According to the United States Census Bureau (2011), French is the fourth most spoken language in the United States after English, Spanish, and Chinese, when all forms of French are considered together and all dialects of Chinese are similarly combined. French
13604-917: The Caribbean that are collectively referred to as the French West Indies , namely Guadeloupe , Saint Barthélemy , Saint Martin , and Martinique . French is the official language of both French Guiana on the South American continent, and of Saint Pierre and Miquelon , an archipelago off the coast of Newfoundland in North America. French was the official language of the colony of French Indochina , comprising modern-day Vietnam , Laos , and Cambodia . It continues to be an administrative language in Laos and Cambodia, although its influence has waned in recent decades. In colonial Vietnam,
13783-538: The Empire, this local elite had been slowly abandoning Gaulish entirely, but the rural and lower class populations remained Gaulish speakers who could sometimes also speak Latin or Greek. The final language shift from Gaulish to Vulgar Latin among rural and lower class populations occurred later, when both they and the incoming Frankish ruler/military class adopted the Gallo-Roman Vulgar Latin speech of
13962-556: The Englishman lost control at Malmedy, overturned and crashed into an embankment on the right side of the track. The car rolled several times, Bristow was thrown from his car and was decapitated by some barbed-wire fencing next to the circuit, killing him instantly; his body partially landed on the track where it stayed for some time. Mairesse continued, but retired from the race later on with gearbox trouble. 5 laps later, 26-year-old Briton Alan Stacey , running in sixth place and driving
14141-528: The FIA announced the Belgian Grand Prix would not be on the calendar, since the local authorities would not be able to complete major repair work at Spa-Francorchamps before the September race. The Belgian Grand Prix returned in 2007, when Kimi Räikkönen took pole position and his third Belgian Grand Prix win in a row. In 2008, McLaren's Lewis Hamilton survived a frantic last two laps in a late shower of rain to win
14320-528: The FIA. Moss's sporting attitude cost him the 1958 Formula One World Championship. When rival Mike Hawthorn was threatened with a penalty after the Portuguese Grand Prix , Moss defended him. Hawthorn was accused of reversing on the track after spinning and stalling his car on an uphill section. Moss had shouted advice to Hawthorn to steer downhill, against traffic, to bump-start the car. Moss's quick thinking, and his defence of Hawthorn before
14499-484: The Germanic Frankish language , which non-exhaustively included the use in upper-class speech and higher registers of V2 word order , a large percentage of the vocabulary (now at around 15% of modern French vocabulary ) including the impersonal singular pronoun on (a calque of Germanic man ), and the name of the language itself. Up until its later stages, Old French , alongside Old Occitan , maintained
14678-643: The Indian Ocean, 15% in North Africa and the Middle East, 8% in the Americas, and 1% in Asia and Oceania. French is the second most widely spoken mother tongue in the European Union . Of Europeans who speak other languages natively, approximately one-fifth are able to speak French as a second language. French is the second most taught foreign language in the EU. All institutions of the EU use French as
14857-541: The Malmedy chicane was also bypassed. At this time, every corner except La Source was ultra-high speed. Spa over this time became known as one of the most extreme, challenging and fearsome circuits in motorsports history. 1950 saw the introduction of the Formula One World Championship; the race was dominated by the Alfa Romeos of Argentine Juan Manuel Fangio and Italian Nino Farina . Their closest challenger, Alberto Ascari , ran into fuel problems and fell back. The race
15036-616: The Mercedes front runners several times and performed well in the races. He achieved his first Formula One victory when he won the Oulton Park International Gold Cup . In the Italian Grand Prix , Moss passed both drivers who were regarded as the best in Formula One at the time – Juan Manuel Fangio in his Mercedes and Alberto Ascari in his Ferrari – and took
15215-416: The Mille Miglia he added three consecutive wins from 1958 to 1960 in the 1000 km Nürburgring , the first two in an Aston Martin (in which he did most of the driving), and the third in a Maserati Tipo 61 , co-driving with Dan Gurney . The pair lost time when an oil hose blew off, but despite the wet-weather, they made up the time and took first place. In the 1960 Formula One season, Moss won
15394-451: The OIF, approximately 321 million people worldwide are "able to speak the language" as of 2022, without specifying the criteria for this estimation or whom it encompasses. In Francophone Africa, it is spoken mainly as a second language. However it has also become a native language in a number of urban areas, especially in regions like Ivory Coast , Cameroon , Gabon, Madagascar , and
15573-636: The RAC Tourist Trophy, the Targa Florio (with Peter Collins ), and the Mille Miglia . In 1955 Moss won Italy's one-thousand-mile Mille Miglia road race, an achievement that Doug Nye described as the "most iconic single day's drive in motor racing history". His co-driver was motor racing journalist Denis Jenkinson , who prepared a set of pace notes for Moss, and the two completed the race in ten hours and seven minutes. Motor Trend headlined it as "The Most Epic Drive Ever". Before
15752-534: The Track Of Speed , first published by Muller, London. In 1963, motorsport author and commentator Ken Purdy published a biographical book entitled All But My Life about Moss (first published by William Kimber & Co, London), based on material gathered through interviews with Moss. In 2015, when he was aged 85, Moss published a second autobiography, entitled My Racing Life , written with motor sports writer Simon Taylor. In 2016, Philip Porter published
15931-509: The absence of safety precautions in those days, they had to borrow spanners from a nearby spectator, and the two drivers got Stewart out. There were other bad accidents on the circuit; some of the cars were hanging off 30-feet-high ledges. Stewart's crash at this race inspired his subsequent crusade for safety at racetracks. There was so much water on the track that the Climax engine in Clark's Lotus
16110-484: The accident; he was severely injured and died during the night at a hospital near the circuit. John Watson won the race for McLaren . Spa-Francorchamps had been shortened to 4.3 mi (7 km) in 1979; the parts that went into and through the urban countryside that swept past towns and other obstructions had been cut out and replaced with a new series of corners right before the Les Combes left-hand corner, and
16289-448: The amnesia Moss suffered from as a result of head injuries sustained in the crash at Goodwood in 1962. Although there were complaints to the magazine about the cartoons, Moss telephoned Private Eye to ask whether he could use it as a Christmas card. Moss was one of the few drivers of his era to create a brand from his name for licensing purposes, which was launched when his website was revamped in 2009 with improved content. In 2004, Moss
16468-483: 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
16647-635: The cars will be available for both road and race use, and Moss would personally be handing over each car. In 1990, Moss was inducted into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame . In the New Year Honours 2000 List, Moss was made a Knight Bachelor for services to motor racing. On 21 March 2000, he was knighted by Prince Charles , standing in for the Queen, who was on an official visit to Australia. He received
16826-607: The circuit had re-installed the Malmedy Chicane. The 1939 race saw the birth of the Raidillon corner; it was a bypass of the Ancienne Douane section. In contrast to popular belief, only the small kink to the left at the bottom of the drop is named Eau Rouge, which directly leads into Raidillon, a very long right uphill corner; and the tricky left blind corner at the top has no name. The conditions were dreadful, and
17005-404: The circuit meant that cars spinning off could hit telegraph poles, houses, stone walls, embankments or trees. Many drivers were killed or seriously injured at Spa during the 1950s in all disciplines of motorsport that competed there. 1958 was won by Briton Tony Brooks, driving a Vanwall, from his teammate Stirling Moss. The race was not run in 1959, but 1960 was to be one of the darkest weekends in
17184-695: The country near French-speaking Quebec, however, it is the foreign language more commonly taught. Vowel phonemes in French Stirling Moss Sir Stirling Craufurd Moss OBE (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
17363-399: 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
17542-532: The crew signaled "HAWT REC", meaning that Hawthorn had set a record lap. Moss read this as "HAWT REG" and thought that Hawthorn was making regular laps, so he did not try to set a fast lap. The crew was supposed to signal the time of the lap, so Moss would know what he had to beat. Moss was as gifted in sports cars as in Grand Prix cars. To his victories in the Tourist Trophy, the Sebring 12 Hours and
17721-519: The demographic prospects of the French-speaking nations of Africa, researcher Pascal-Emmanuel Gobry wrote in 2014 that French "could be the language of the future". However, some African countries such as Algeria intermittently attempted to eradicate the use of French, and as of 2024 it was removed as an official language in Mali and Burkina Faso . Significant as a judicial language, French
17900-448: The economic power of the countries using the language, the number of major areas in which the language is used, and the linguistic prestige associated with the mastery of the language (Weber highlighted that French in particular enjoys considerable linguistic prestige). In a 2008 reassessment of his article, Weber concluded that his findings were still correct since "the situation among the top ten remains unchanged." Knowledge of French
18079-594: The elites primarily spoke French, while many servants who worked in French households spoke a French pidgin known as " Tây Bồi " (now extinct). After French rule ended, South Vietnam continued to use French in administration, education, and trade. However, since the Fall of Saigon and the opening of a unified Vietnam's economy, French has gradually been effectively displaced as the first foreign language of choice by English in Vietnam. Nevertheless, it continues to be taught as
18258-465: The engine capacity up to a maximum of 3 litres from 1.5 – engines had now twice as much horsepower as before. This year saw another rain-soaked race: on the first lap, as the field reached the far side of the circuit, a heavy rainstorm caused seven drivers to hydroplane off at Burnenville. Briton Jackie Stewart had a high speed accident at the Masta Kink, where he went through a woodcutter's hut, hit
18437-454: The event postponed because of a new asphalt that had been laid down specifically to help the cars on the often rain-soaked Spa circuit. But to the embarrassment of the organizers, the weather was hot, and the track surface broke up so badly the drivers could not drive on it. The event was moved from its original date in early June to mid-September. When mid-September came around, Brazilian Ayrton Senna took his first of five Belgian Grands Prix in
18616-407: The fast Malmedy corner installed at the circuit, but even this did not stop the cars still averaging over 150 miles per hour (240 km/h) around the 8.7 miles (14.0 km) track. The race was won by Mexican Pedro Rodriguez in a BRM with New Zealander Chris Amon finishing 1.1 seconds behind in a March. But Spa was still too fast and too dangerous, and in 1971 the Belgian Grand Prix was cancelled, as
18795-542: 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
18974-438: The field reached the pit straight again (by which time Luckett had been removed from the road, although the track still had Stohr's broken Arrows car on the circuit and the surface was littered with debris) a number of track marshals jumped onto the tarmac and frantically waved their arms to try to make the field stop while waving yellow flags instead of red flags. The cars went by at full racing speeds. When they came back again for
19153-474: The field, it then exploded and burst into flames, killing him. It was not known whether the impact broke his neck or if the fire burned him alive while unconscious. Australian Jack Brabham won the race, and British future great Jim Clark scored his first Formula One points by finishing 5th – but Clark, like a number of other drivers, developed an intense dislike for the circuit after he had to swerve at extreme speeds to avoid running over Bristow's headless body. It
19332-516: The first government authority to adopt Modern French as official was the Aosta Valley in 1536, while the Ordinance of Villers-Cotterêts (1539) named French the language of law in the Kingdom of France . During the 17th century, French replaced Latin as the most important language of diplomacy and international relations ( lingua franca ). It retained this role until approximately the middle of
19511-515: The first volume of Stirling Moss – The Definitive Biography covering the period from birth up to the end of 1955, one of Moss's greatest years. During his driving career, Moss was one of the most recognised celebrities in Britain, leading to many media appearances. In March 1958, Moss was a guest challenger on the TV panel show What's My Line? (episode with Anita Ekberg ). In 1959 he
19690-915: The former Yugoslavia , International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda , the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea the International Criminal Court and the World Trade Organization Appellate Body . It is the sole internal working language of the Court of Justice of the European Union , and makes with English the European Court of Human Rights 's two working languages. In 1997, George Weber published, in Language Today ,
19869-704: The former of which remains the record for a non-World 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 . 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
20048-829: The gender of the corresponding word in Gaulish. The estimated number of French words that can be attributed to Gaulish is placed at 154 by the Petit Robert , which is often viewed as representing standardized French, while if non-standard dialects are included, the number increases to 240. Known Gaulish loans are skewed toward certain semantic fields, such as plant life ( chêne , bille , etc.), animals ( mouton , cheval , etc.), nature ( boue , etc.), domestic activities (ex. berceau ), farming and rural units of measure ( arpent , lieue , borne , boisseau ), weapons, and products traded regionally rather than further afield. This semantic distribution has been attributed to peasants being
20227-403: The grid, so his mechanic Dave Luckett jumped onto the circuit to try and start Patrese's car; however, the organizers started the race and the whole field went into motion while Luckett was still on the road. Next, the other Arrows driver, Italian Siegfried Stohr , hit the back of Patrese's car, where Luckett was standing. Luckett was knocked unconscious and laid sprawled on the circuit. Then, when
20406-474: The history of Formula One. Grand Prix racing had moved forward to a new kind of car design – new British independent teams such as Cooper and Lotus had pioneered the rear-mid-engined car, much like the Auto Union Grand Prix cars of the 1930s. These cars were considerably lighter, faster and easier to drive than their front-engined predecessors, and it became obvious that rear-mid-engined cars were
20585-454: The language are very closely related to those of the rest of the French-speaking world. French is the second most commonly spoken language in Canada and one of two federal official languages alongside English. As of the 2021 Canadian census , it was the native language of 7.7 million people (21% of the population) and the second language of 2.9 million (8% of the population). French
20764-479: The language, although it has now given way to Tamil and English. A former French mandate , Lebanon designates Arabic as the sole official language, while a special law regulates cases when French can be publicly used. Article 11 of Lebanon's Constitution states that "Arabic is the official national language. A law determines the cases in which the French language is to be used". The French language in Lebanon
20943-612: The language. The Act applies to areas of the province where there are significant Francophone communities, namely Eastern Ontario and Northern Ontario . Elsewhere, sizable French-speaking minorities are found in southern Manitoba, Nova Scotia , Prince Edward Island and the Port au Port Peninsula in Newfoundland and Labrador, where the unique Newfoundland French dialect was historically spoken. Smaller pockets of French speakers exist in all other provinces. The Ontarian city of Ottawa ,
21122-479: The last to hold onto Gaulish. The beginning of French in Gaul was greatly influenced by Germanic invasions into the country. These invasions had the greatest impact on the northern part of the country and on the language there. A language divide began to grow across the country. The population in the north spoke langue d'oïl while the population in the south spoke langue d'oc . Langue d'oïl grew into what
21301-407: The lead of the race. Ascari retired with engine problems, and Moss led until lap 68, when his engine also failed. Fangio took the victory, and Moss had to push his Maserati to the finish line. Neubauer, already impressed when Moss had tested a Mercedes-Benz W196 at Hockenheim , promptly signed him for the 1955 season. Moss's first World Championship victory came at the 1955 British Grand Prix ,
21480-412: The longest circuit ever to hold a Formula One Grand Prix, the 25 km (16 mi) Pescara Circuit , where, yet again, he demonstrated his mastery in long-distance racing. The event lasted three hours and Moss beat Fangio, who started from pole position , by approximately 3 minutes. In 1958, Moss's forward-thinking attitude made waves in the racing world. Moss won the first race of the season in
21659-488: The national and international levels, and continued to compete in Formula Three , with Coopers and Kiefts , after he had progressed to more senior categories. His first major international race victory came on the eve of his 21st birthday at the wheel of a Jaguar XK120 in the 1950 RAC Tourist Trophy in Northern Ireland. He went on to win the race six more times, in 1951 (with a Jaguar C-Type ), 1955 (with
21838-420: The necessity and means to annihilate the patois and to universalize the use of the French language". When public education was made compulsory , only French was taught and the use of any other ( patois ) language was punished. The goals of the public school system were made especially clear to the French-speaking teachers sent to teach students in regions such as Occitania and Brittany . Instructions given by
22017-509: The new track rejoined the old on the straight leading up to Blanchimont. The first race at the shortened Spa circuit was won by Frenchman Alain Prost , and the circuit was an immediate hit with drivers, teams and fans. The Belgian Grand Prix returned to Zolder in 1984 and this was the last F1 race held at the Flemish circuit with Italian Michele Alboreto taking victory in a Ferrari. 1985 saw
22196-471: The official 1988 Formula One season review along with Tony Jardine . Moss also narrated the popular children's series Roary the Racing Car , which stars Peter Kay . Although ostensibly retired from racing since 1962, Moss did make a number of one-off appearances in professional motorsport events in the following two decades. He also competed in the 1974 London-Sahara-Munich World Cup Rally in
22375-534: The other main foreign language in the Vietnamese educational system and is regarded as a cultural language. All three countries are full members of La Francophonie (OIF). French was the official language of French India , consisting of the geographically separate enclaves referred to as Puducherry . It continued to be an official language of the territory even after its cession to India in 1956 until 1965. A small number of older locals still retain knowledge of
22554-599: The pits as the car was dropping large amounts of oil onto the road. He also shared a Volkswagen Golf GTI with Denny Hulme in the 1979 Benson & Hedges 500 at Pukekohe Park Raceway in New Zealand. In 1980 he made a comeback to regular competition, in the British Saloon Car Championship with the works-backed GTi Engineering Audi team. For the 1980 season Moss was the team's number-two driver to team co-owner Richard Lloyd . For
22733-406: The possibility of Moss's joining Mercedes. Having seen him do well in a relatively noncompetitive car, and wanting to see how he would perform in a better one, Neubauer suggested that Moss buy a Maserati for the 1954 season. He bought a Maserati 250F , and although the car's unreliability prevented him from scoring high amounts of points in the 1954 Drivers' Championship , he qualified alongside
22912-471: The preferred language of certain institutions or administrations such as the Court of Justice of the European Union , where it is the sole internal working language, or the Directorate-General for Agriculture . Since 2016, Brexit has rekindled discussions on whether or not French should again hold greater role within the institutions of the European Union. A leading world language , French
23091-399: The race classification being counted back to the end of lap 1 with Max Verstappen classified first, George Russell second and Lewis Hamilton third, with half points being awarded. The controversy surrounding the awarding of points for this race led to Formula One and the FIA changing the points structure for shortened races ahead of the 2022 Formula One World Championship . The 2022 race
23270-513: The race for Lotus , driving the 79 in its debut race. In 1979, Jody Scheckter won the race in his Ferrari , and in 1980 Didier Pironi became a first time winner in his Ligier . The 1981 meeting was a chaotic event wrapped in the midst of the FISA–FOCA war and the poor conditions of the Zolder circuit, including its very narrow pitlane. During Friday practice, Osella mechanic Giovanni Amadeo
23449-404: The race was marred by the death of British driver Richard "Dick" Seaman while leading the race. Going into Clubhouse corner, Seaman was pushing hard; he skidded off the rain-soaked road, hit a tree and his Mercedes caught fire. Seaman received life-threatening burns, and he succumbed to his injuries later in hospital. The race was won by Seaman's teammate Hermann Lang . World War II broke out, and
23628-476: The race was won by Fittipaldi, but the circuit was unpopular among the Formula One circus and after that event the organizers were unable to sustain a Grand Prix at Nivelles, and the track faded from the racing scene. The Belgian Grand Prix would be held at Zolder a further nine times. Niki Lauda scored back-to-back victories at the track in 1975 and 1976, and in 1977 Gunnar Nilsson scored his only F1 victory at Zolder. The following year Mario Andretti dominated
23807-490: The race, he had taken a pill given to him by Fangio, and he has commented that although he did not know what was in it: " Dexedrine and Benzedrine were commonly used in rallies. The object was simply to keep awake, like wartime bomber crews." After the win, he spent the night and the following day driving his girlfriend to Cologne. Moss won the Nassau Cup at the 1956 and 1957 Bahamas Speed Week . Also in 1957 he won on
23986-470: The race, the Argentine took victory as he had the year before in a Maserati. 1956 saw a wet race, with Moss in a Maserati lead, and Fangio, now driving for Ferrari, made a bad start and dropped to fifth at the start, although he got up to second behind Moss. The track was drying, and Moss lost a wheel at Raidillon corner. He did not hit anything and went back to take over his teammate Cesare Perdisa's car and
24165-408: The race. Hamilton lost the lead to Ferrari's Kimi Räikkönen with an early spin but fought back in the closing laps to re-take the lead with two laps to go. On a soaking track, Hamilton passed Räikkönen, lost the lead again with a spin, re-took it and then saw Räikkönen crash. Ferrari's Felipe Massa took second leaving him eight points behind Hamilton. However, the stewards decided after the race to apply
24344-478: The rescheduled 1985 event) and it has remained in this time frame ever since. The 1990 event had to be restarted twice after a multi-car accident at the La Source hairpin on the first start and then Paolo Barilla crashing at Eau Rouge on the second start. In 1992 German Michael Schumacher won his first of 91 Grand Prix victories in a Benetton, a year after making his Formula 1 debut at the circuit. Damon Hill won
24523-471: The rest largely speak French as a first language. As a French Creole language , Haitian Creole draws the large majority of its vocabulary from French, with influences from West African languages, as well as several European languages. It is closely related to Louisiana Creole and the creole from the Lesser Antilles . French is the sole official language of all the overseas territories of France in
24702-404: The stewards, preserved Hawthorn's 6 points for finishing in second place. Hawthorn went on to beat Moss for the championship title by one point, even though he had won only one race that year to Moss's four. Moss's loss in the championship could also be attributed to an error in communication between his pit crew and the driver at one race. A point was given for the fastest lap in each race, and
24881-426: The third lap they voluntarily stopped themselves. The race was restarted and was won by Reutemann. Luckett survived the incident, but neither Patrese nor Stohr started the second race. Gilles Villeneuve died during practice at Zolder in 1982 after a collision with West German Jochen Mass going into the fast Butte corner. Villeneuve's Ferrari flipped a number of times and the Canadian was thrown out of his car during
25060-466: The total number of French speakers will reach approximately 500 million in 2025 and 650 million by 2050, largely due to rapid population growth in sub-Saharan Africa . OIF estimates 700 million French speakers by 2050, 80% of whom will be in Africa. In a study published in March 2014 by Forbes , the investment bank Natixis said that French could become the world's most spoken language by 2050. In
25239-408: The track safe for racing. When the track owners did not want to pay for the safety improvements, the British, French and Italian teams withdrew from the event, and it was cancelled in early April. The exclusion of the Belgian Grand Prix that year was not popular with the press, particularly British journalist Denis Jenkinson . One last race was held there in 1970 with barriers and a temporary chicane at
25418-534: The track was not up to mandatory FIA-mandated safety specs that year. The event was then eventually relocated. Following that decision, the Belgians decided to alternate their Grand Prix between Zolder in northern Belgium and a circuit at Nivelles-Baulers near Brussels . The first race at Nivelles in 1972 was won by Emerson Fittipaldi . Zolder hosted the race the following year and it was won by Jackie Stewart . Formula One returned to Nivelles in 1974. Once again
25597-462: The tube-frame chassis of that day offered little crash resistance (as opposed to a modern-day monocoque, pioneered by Lotus only a few years later). Cars were not crash-tested and lacked roll bars (made mandatory in 1961) and fire extinguishers. Although drivers did wear helmets, they were made of weak and lightweight material and not scientifically designed or tested. Drivers in those days did not wear seatbelts – they found it preferable to be thrown from
25776-518: The twenty-two runners at the first corner. After the restart, heavy rain caused low visibility, and Michael Schumacher ran into the back of David Coulthard , an event that angered Schumacher so much he stormed into the McLaren garage to confront Coulthard, claiming he had tried to kill him. Coulthard later admitted he had been at fault, due to his own inexperience. Only eight drivers were classified finishers (two of whom were five laps behind, one of whom
25955-754: The two official languages—along with Dutch —of the Brussels-Capital Region , where it is spoken by the majority of the population (approx. 80%), often as their primary language. French is one of the four official languages of Switzerland, along with German, Italian, and Romansh , and is spoken in the western part of Switzerland, called Romandy , of which Geneva is the largest city. The language divisions in Switzerland do not coincide with political subdivisions, and some cantons have bilingual status: for example, cities such as Biel/Bienne and cantons such as Valais , Fribourg and Bern . French
26134-568: The urban intellectual elite. The Gaulish language likely survived into the sixth century in France despite considerable Romanization . Coexisting with Latin, Gaulish helped shape the Vulgar Latin dialects that developed into French contributing loanwords and calques (including oui , the word for "yes"), sound changes shaped by Gaulish influence, and influences in conjugation and word order. Recent computational studies suggest that early gender shifts may have been motivated by
26313-485: The use of French in official government publications, public education except in specific cases, and legal contracts; advertisements must bear a translation of foreign words. In Belgium, French is an official language at the federal level along with Dutch and German. At the regional level, French is the sole official language of Wallonia (excluding a part of the East Cantons , which are German-speaking ) and one of
26492-426: The way to go in purpose-built automobile racing. But this new type of cars had not been driven at Spa before, so no one knew how they would perform there. The high-speed bends at Spa were now much faster with these new cars – and in those days, the cars or circuits for that matter had absolutely no safety features of any kind. The cylinder-shaped bodywork was made of very thin highly flammable magnesium or fibreglass, and
26671-438: 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
26850-486: 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
27029-536: The workplace. In 2011, Bloomberg Businessweek ranked French the third most useful language for business, after English and Standard Mandarin Chinese . In English-speaking Canada, the United Kingdom, and Ireland, French is the first foreign language taught and in number of pupils is far ahead of other languages. In the United States, French is the second-most commonly taught foreign language in schools and universities, although well behind Spanish. In some areas of
27208-647: The works Ferrari driver was thrown out of his car, receiving serious leg and head injuries. He was in a coma for a week, and initially his legs were in danger of needing amputation. He survived, but never raced in Formula One again. 1968 saw a number of firsts: wings as an aerodynamic device were introduced for the first time in Formula One. The European constructors, particularly Colin Chapman and Mauro Forghieri , were influenced by American Jim Hall 's Chaparral 2E and 2F sports cars' very large high strutted wings. New Zealander Chris Amon qualified his rear-wing equipped Ferrari on pole position by 4 seconds over Stewart in
27387-402: The world's French-speaking population lives in Africa. According to a 2023 estimate from the Organisation internationale de la Francophonie , an estimated 167 million African people spread across 35 countries and territories can speak French as either a first or a second language . This number does not include the people living in non-Francophone African countries who have learned French as
27566-503: The world, with about 50 countries and territories having it as a de jure or de facto official, administrative, or cultural language. Most of these countries are members of the Organisation internationale de la Francophonie (OIF), the community of 54 member states which share the official use or teaching of French. It is spoken as a first language (in descending order of the number of speakers) in France; Canada (especially in
27745-544: Was 81. Lister Cars announced the building for sale of the Lister Knobbly Stirling Moss at the Royal Automobile Club in London in June 2016. The magnesium car is built to the exact specification of the 1958 model, and is the only car that was ever endorsed by Moss. Brian Lister invited Moss to drive for Lister on three separate occasions, at Goodwood in 1954, Silverstone in 1958 and at Sebring in 1959, and to celebrate these races, 10 special-edition lightweight Lister Knobbly cars are being built. The company announced that
27924-432: Was Coulthard) and Damon Hill secured a victory ahead of his teammate Ralf Schumacher to record the Jordan team's first Formula One win. Schumacher won his 52nd Grand Prix at Spa in 2001, surpassing Alain Prost 's all-time record of 51 wins. Schumacher also won his seventh World Drivers' Championship title at Spa in 2004. There was no Belgian Grand Prix in 2003 because of the country's tobacco advertising laws. In 2006,
28103-491: Was a supporter of the UK Independence Party . He was also a Mercedes-Benz Brand Ambassador, having kept a close relationship with the brand, and remained an enthusiast and collector of the brand, which includes the Mercedes-Benz W113 , Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren Stirling Moss among others. Moss was married three times. His first wife was Katie Molson, an heir to the Canadian brewer Molson . They were married on 7 October 1957 and separated three years later. His second wife
28282-448: 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
28461-405: Was able to finish 3rd. The gearbox in Fangio's car broke, and his teammate Peter Collins won the race. The 1957 race was cancelled because there was no money for the race to be held, thanks to the extreme prices of fuel in Belgium and the Netherlands caused by the Suez crisis . 1958 saw Spa upgraded with new facilities, a resurfaced track and also the pit straight was made wider. But Spa had gained
28640-450: Was accidentally run over in the pitlane by Argentine Carlos Reutemann . He died of his injuries the day after the race. On race day, as a result of the poor conditions of Zolder and the accident on Friday, there was drivers' strike which caused the race to be started later than scheduled. Then, when the race started after yet another delay, there was a starting-grid accident involving an Arrows mechanic: Riccardo Patrese stalled his Arrows on
28819-444: 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
28998-531: Was during the period of the Crusades in which French became so dominant in the Mediterranean Sea that became a lingua franca ("Frankish language"), and because of increased contact with the Arabs during the Crusades who referred to them as Franj , numerous Arabic loanwords entered French, such as amiral (admiral), alcool (alcohol), coton (cotton) and sirop (syrop), as well as scientific terms such as algébre (algebra), alchimie (alchemy) and zéro (zero). Within Old French many dialects emerged but
29177-422: Was extremely challenging, mainly because each corner on the circuit was so fast, and also because of the circuit's long length in addition to the fact that it was almost exclusively made up of fast corners and straights. The circuit was very fast, and each corner had to be taken correctly to maintain speed through the next one. Lifting off or taking the wrong racing line would result in several seconds being lost. Spa
29356-489: Was fined £50 and banned from driving for one year after an incident near Chetwynd, Shropshire , when he was test-driving a Mini . Moss was an accomplished woodworker and craftsman, and participated in the design and construction of several of his own homes. In 2013, Moss said that if a biopic were made about his life, he would want to be portrayed by “someone masculine – not a poofter or anything like that”. He stood by this comment, saying that he would have to be played by
29535-434: Was flooded and failed. Briton John Surtees won the race in a Ferrari, followed by Austrian Jochen Rindt in a Cooper. 1967 saw American Dan Gurney in his Eagle win after Clark had mechanical problems – it was to be Eagle's only F1 victory. Briton Mike Parkes crashed heavily at 150 mph at Blanchimont after slipping on some oil that had dropped off of Jackie Stewart's BRM. After his car hit and climbed up an embankment,
29714-400: Was gradually adopted by the inhabitants of Gaul. As the language was learned by the common people, it developed a distinct local character, with grammatical differences from Latin as spoken elsewhere, some of which is attested in graffiti. This local variety evolved into the Gallo-Romance tongues, which include French and its closest relatives, such as Arpitan . The evolution of Latin in Gaul
29893-469: Was known in the Occitan-speaking region as Vergonha . Spoken by 19.71% of the European Union's population, French is the third most widely spoken language in the EU, after English and German and the second-most-widely taught language after English. Under the Constitution of France , French has been the official language of the Republic since 1992, although the Ordinance of Villers-Cotterêts made it mandatory for legal documents in 1539. France mandates
30072-407: Was located in a region where the weather was unpredictable; in many races there, while one part of the track was dry and had sunshine, another at the same time was soaking wet and it was raining there. There were no radios in the days of the old Spa circuit, so drivers had no idea of circuit conditions and could encounter rain without warning, where there had been none on the previous lap. The nature of
30251-401: Was not part of the Formula One World Championship. A yellow background indicates an event which was part of the pre- war European Championship. * Built by Cosworth , funded by Ford ** Between 1999 and 2005 built by Ilmor , funded by Mercedes A pink background indicates an event which was not part of the Formula One World Championship. A yellow background indicates an event which
30430-474: Was once stopped for speeding and asked just that; he reports the traffic officer had some difficulty believing him. Moss was the subject of a cartoon biography in the magazine Private Eye that said he was interested in cars, women and sex, in that order. The cartoon, drawn by Willie Rushton , showed him continually crashing, having his driving licence revoked and finally "hosting television programmes on subjects he knows nothing about". It also made reference to
30609-410: Was part of the pre- war European Championship. A green background indicates an event which was part of the pre-war World Manufacturers' Championship . French language French ( français [fʁɑ̃sɛ] or langue française [lɑ̃ɡ fʁɑ̃sɛːz] ) is a Romance language of the Indo-European family . Like all other Romance languages, it descended from
30788-411: Was shaped by its coexistence for over half a millennium beside the native Celtic Gaulish language , which did not go extinct until the late sixth century, long after the fall of the Western Roman Empire . The population remained 90% indigenous in origin; the Romanizing class were the local native elite (not Roman settlers), whose children learned Latin in Roman schools. At the time of the collapse of
30967-427: Was the American public-relations executive Elaine Barbarino. They were married on 25 June 1964 and divorced in 1968. Their daughter Allison was born in 1967. His third wife was the secretary Susie Paine, the daughter of an old friend. They were married from 1980 until his death in 2020. Their son Elliot was born in 1980. Paine died in March 2023, aged 69. In April 1960, Moss was found guilty of dangerous driving . He
31146-451: Was the first time a production car had averaged over 100 mph (160.93 km/h) for 24 hours. Revisiting Montlhéry, Moss was one of a four-driver team, led by Johnson, who drove a factory-owned Jaguar XK120 fixed-head coupé for 7 days and nights at the French track. Moss, Johnson, Bert Hadley, and Jack Fairman averaged 100.31 mph (161.43 km/h) to take four World records and five International Class C records, and covered
31325-437: Was the language they use the most at home rose from 67% at the 2007 census to 74% at the 2017 census. In Wallis and Futuna, the percentage of the population who reported that French was the language they use the most at home rose from 10% at the 2008 census to 13% at the 2018 census. According to a demographic projection led by the Université Laval and the Réseau Démographie de l'Agence universitaire de la Francophonie ,
31504-472: Was the subject of the TV programme This Is Your Life . On 12 June the following year he was interviewed by John Freeman on Face to Face ; Freeman later said that he had thought before the interview that Moss was a playboy, but in their meeting he showed "cold, precise, clinical judgement ... a man who could live so close to the edge of death and danger, and trust entirely to his own judgement. This appealed to me". Moss also appeared as himself in
31683-449: Was the worst Formula One event in terms of fatalities until the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix . 1961 saw Ferrari make use of their superior horsepower, and they romped home 1–2–3–4, with Phil Hill winning. 1962 saw Clark win his first race, going on to win the next three Belgian Grands Prix. 1963 was a rain-soaked race with Clark finishing 4.5 minutes in front of second-placed Bruce McLaren . 1966 featured cars built under new regulations with
31862-444: Was won by Fangio, and Farina won the next year's race in his works Alfa after Fangio dropped back with hub problems. 1953 saw Ascari dominate in his Ferrari while the Maseratis fell apart. Fangio crashed and José Froilán González had a steering failure and stopped out near the banked Stavelot corner. 1955 saw Mercedes dominate, Fangio and his British teammate Stirling Moss led the race distance. Moss followed Fangio closely for most of
32041-589: Was won by Verstappen from 14th, the second lowest position the race has been won from, after Michael Schumacher in 1995 . The race's contract was extended to the 2023 season. In October 2023 the race's contract was extended to the 2025 season. Drivers in bold are competing in the Formula One championship in the current season. Michael Schumacher won the Belgian Grand Prix six times. Ayrton Senna and Lewis Hamilton won five times each, including four consecutively from 1988 to 1991 for Senna. Kimi Räikkönen and Jim Clark won four times each. Clark also won four times in
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