A couple of other questions:

- Now that the drivers are all so fit, what about going back to a Le Mans start? I think it would be a lot of fun.

- How does Stirling rate the F1 tracks? Most boring, most exciting, most challenging etc?

- Racing in the wet: Is it really racing? There’s so much spray they can’t see and they can’t use full power because there’s no grip, and as a spectator I don’t like seeing them tip-toeing around. But perhaps drivers need to prove they can race in wet conditions?

- Does Stirling have any thoughts on KERS? It’s a truly new innovation. Other rule changes are just tinkerings/modifications of existing technology.

- In his day a sufficiently dedicated team could build a competitive car on a small budget. Nowadays it’s so big-budget and corporate, an enthusiastic amateur hasn’t got a hope of competing. Some of that pioneer spirit is lost. Good thing/bad thing/inevitable?

He is most famous here in Cape Town for crashing a road-going Porsche and a magistrate stripping him of his driver’s license. (Don’t ask him about that.)

I’m interested in what he has to say about high-downforce cars. The cars of his day must have been ready to skate off the roads at any instant with their skinny tyres and no downforce.

Also, does he have any ideas how to get more overtaking, to make modern-day F1 more of a spectacle?

Also, what formula does he think is the ultimate test of a racing driver? (Perhaps a mix of formulas and track types to win a Triple Crown?)

So many things, here are a few of the things I would ask him:

- Barring the technical advancements, what is the biggest difference you see from the drivers of your era and of today?

- As an important part of Formula One’ legacy, do you feel the sport does enough to recognize the achievements and sacrifices of the people who made this sport what it is today?

- How would you describe the working relationship between the drivers of Mercedes Benz and Rudolf Uhlenhaut?

- In your opinion what are the things that made Fangio really standout from his peers?

- Mike Hawthorn seems to be the “forgotten driver” of British motor racing. It seems everyone has a story with him, what is you favorite memory of Mike?

- There is an overwhelming sentiment that you are the greatest F1 driver never to win the world championship. Barring yourself, who do you think deserves that title?

- Finally, if god came down and said he would let you take one last drive before he took you to heaven, what car would you drive and what road/track would you drive on?

I would like to know if he thinks if he were driving today, in modern F1, whether he would still have his exemplary levels of integrity and sportsmanship, or whether instead those values reflected the era in which he drove.

Good luck with the interview.

Dan, not all the drivers took someone with them. Fangio, for example, stopped taking one after his former co-driver, Daniel Urrutia, died in a crash when they were competing in the 1948 Gran Premio de la America del Sur.

Moss took famed motor racing journalist Denis Jenkinson with him in the ’55 Mille Miglia. Despite how hectic his schedule was they managed to fit in a few reconnaissance tours of the circuit and compiled rally-style pace notes, which Jenkinson relayed to Moss during the event. Previously the passengers had usually been mechanics although the drivers would typically have strong mechanical knowledge as well, as Fangio did.

I’m head over to read (and be jealous of) the interview now.