I think Senna is the one person who came up to his standard of driving and maybe [Jim] Clark But even then Senna wasn't

"I think Senna is the one person who came up to his standard of driving, and maybe [Jim] Clark But even then Senna wasn't the man that Fangio was. They would always speak in Italian and yet because of the sort of person Fangio was, and their bond of common respect, they managed to understand what the other person was saying by use of hands and eyes.To Moss, himself recognised by motorsport aficionados the world over as the greatest driver never to have won the world championship and the greatest all-rounder of them all, only the late Ayrton Senna ever came close to the standards set by Fangio."Fangio stands out absolutely as one of the all-time greats," he confirmed. His demeanour was not awe-inspiring, but there was something there that made you feel that you were in the presence of somebody fairly important. Dignity is the word, I suppose."Moss said that his one regret was that they were not able to converse in English, but only in his own limited Italian. He was an absolute gentleman yet he was of very moderate birth. He came from a very ordinary family and yet the man was as much of a gentleman as any lord you'd ever meet In fact, a lot more of a gentleman than some of them If you ever met him he had great presence.

It's something that's difficult to put over in a modern way, because racing drivers today are so different to how they were that many years ago."You see, Fangio was a very humble person. I could make do with his seat, and was pleased and proud to be in it I knew I had with me this incredible driver, simple as that. And if he ever asked, Fangio would simply make a non-committal comment which would preserve the mystery.One of their high points together was sharing a Mercedes at Le Mans, when they were leading at the time of the accident that killed more than 80 people."When you drive with another person it's obviously a compromise with the fitting of the seat," Moss said some years ago, "but though he was a different size to me, and a bit heavier, it didn't matter. To this day, Moss has no idea whether Fangio really let him win his home grand prix, at Aintree in 1955, or whether he truly merited the success.

The only thing they respect is if another driver makes more money. You see, that didn't come into the frame then."Throughout their careers, on and off the track, they never experienced any strain in their relationship, and long after each had finished racing their friendship and mutual respect remained unaffected. I had that much respect for him as a driver, and as a man."The thing that is different today is that drivers don't respect each other. I could see that he was exactly the kind of person that I would like to be. I had almost a father complex with him and felt close to him, without having any particular reason to. If he prints it you'd buy it, but you wouldn't ask him!"Fangio was a very warm person He would always come up and welcome you with affection. It's rather like saying, would you go to a master chef if you were another master chef competing against him and ask him how he made a recipe You wouldn't do it.