Following his passing on Easter Sunday, Formula 1 six-time champion Lewis Hamilton has paid his respects and tributes to racing great Sir Stirling Moss. 

The motorsport great died at age 90 and thousands of tributes have flooded in since, including an emotional one from British champ Hamilton.

Hamilton and Moss were good friends who ‘clicked straight away’. They both raced for Mercedes and became increasingly close after Hamilton’s move to Silver Arrows in 2013. 

In an emotional social media post, Hamilton said: "Today we say goodbye to Sir Stirling Moss, the racing legend. I think it's important that we celebrate his incredible life and the great man he was.

"Saying goodbye is never easy and can be sad but he will always be here, in our memories and will always be such a huge part of British Motorsports Heritage." 

Moss was a teammate at Mercedes to Argentine five-time world champion Juan Manuel Fangio. 

Moss survived what most motorsport fans describe as one of the ‘deadliest eras’ in the sport’s history with 16 Grand Prix wins in the 1950s and early 1960s. 

Although Moss never won a world title, he is ranked as a Formula 1 great. 

Despite never winning the championship, Moss was four times a championship runner-up, and also third on three occasions. In fact, no other driver has won as many races without taking the title. 

Moss was the first Briton to win his home Grand Prix, beating teammate Fangio at Liverpool's Aintree circuit for Mercedes in 1955. 

Hamilton also added to his social media post: "I certainly will miss our conversations. To be honest, it was such an unusual pairing, our friendship. Two people from massively different times and backgrounds but we clicked and ultimately found that the love for racing we both shared made us comrades.

"I am truly grateful to have had these special moments with him. Sending my prayers and thoughts to his family. May he rest in peace." 

Mercedes team principal and CEO Toto Wolff also paid tribute to Moss. 

In his statement he said: "Sir Stirling was a larger-than-life figure in our sport and one of the survivors of an age when motor racing was about danger, bravery and camaraderie.” 

This relates back to why fans regarded the late 50’s and early 60’s as one of the ‘deadliest eras’. Cars were, in most cases, not safe and it was said it took a ‘real man’ to get into one and devote his life to racing around in it, like Moss did. 

Wolff later added: "But most of all, Stirling's career was characterised by an impeccable sportsmanship and in this he truly set himself apart. He was a great figure in the history of Mercedes, both as a Grand Prix driver and the winner of the 1955 Mille Miglia.” 

Wolff concluded by saying: "It is no exaggeration to say that we will never see his like again. Our deepest condolences go to his wife Lady Susie, his family and his friends. Godspeed to a true racer."