Motor-racing great Sir Stirling Moss has died following a long illness at the age of 90.

The racing driver, who won 212 of the 529 races he competed in, died in his Mayfair home in the early hours of Sunday morning.

His wife, Lady Susie Moss, who had nursed him through a chest infection he caught in Singapore in 2016, said: “He died as he lived, looking wonderful.”

She added: "It was one lap too many. He just closed his eyes."

Sir Stirling was born into a Jewish family in London in 1929, who changed their name from Moses to Moss.

According to his 2010 autobiography, his father was a Jewish dentist and part-time racing driver, who instilled courage in him as a young boy.

When Sir Stirling was bullied at school for being Jewish, he never mentioned it to his parents, instead using it as motivation to succeed.

An inductee into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame, he won 16 of the 66 Formula 1 races he competed in from 1951 to 1961.

However, he never won the F1 world title, as he preferred to race British cars, saying: “Better to lose honourably in a British car than win in a foreign one.”

He also missed out on taking the title due to acts of conspicuous sportsmanship, such as his defence of competitor Mike Hawthorn in 1958, who went on to win the championship title one point ahead of Moss.