Joining the multi-million-pound 1950s racer was Hamilton’s current F1 car. The Englishman will be racing at the Northampton track on 30 June at the British Grand Prix.

The older car was built for the 1954 season and, driven by Argentine World Champion Juan Manuel Fangio, won the Swiss and German Grands Prix that year. Moss joined the team for the 1955 season, being thought of as too inexperienced to race the highly developed German cars in 1954. Generally playing (a very close) second fiddle to Fangio, Moss nevertheless won the 1955 British Grand Prix at Aintree.

The ever-enthusiastic Moss remarked: “Winning the British Grand Prix meant a lot to me. I won in a Mercedes-Benz W196 in 1955, just before the very last corner. It really was a very special day. I remember it quite well; I’d caught up with Fangio and overtaken him in traffic. As we went round the last corner I put my foot flat on the floor and took the chequered flag. I finished literally half a car length in front.

“Taking a look at Lewis’s car today, there’s no way would I get in it, but then he said the same thing about mine! He asked where the seatbelts were – we didn’t wear seatbelts!”

Photos: Steve Etherington/Mercedes AMG Petronas