Peter Collins, F1 driver
British Formula 1 and Sports Car Driver Killed at Nurburgring
Sports Car Success and F1 with Ferrari
One of the greatest victories of Peter Collins’s career came at the 1955 Targa Florio, where he drove to victory in the glorious Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR, partnering Stirling Moss. That year Collins also finished second at Le Mans, this time in an Aston Martin shared with French driver Paul Frère. The victory went to his great friend Mike Hawthorn, driving a Jagaur D-Type with Ivor Bueb.
Enzo Ferrari had been impressed by Collins and, for 1956, signed him to the team. At the arduous Spa-Francorchamps circuit he scored his maiden World Championship victory in a Lancia-Ferrari D50. Collins won again at Reims and, by the time of the Italian Grand Prix at Monza, was in contention for the title.
Collins Gives Car to Fangio at Monza
Juan-Manuel Fangio also drove for Ferrari in 1956 but any hopes of a fourth world title for the Argentinean seemed to have evaporated when he retired at Monza. Collins and Moss were now the two drivers fighting for the championship until, in a selfless act, Collins pulled into the pits and handed his car over to Fangio, a man he greatly admired. Fangio went on to claim the World Championship but Collins was not worried. He was only 24 years of age with plenty of time to achieve that ambition.
In the September, 2008 edition of Motor Sport magazine Collins’s widow Louise King remembered the incident at Monza;
“Peter revered Fangio… It was important, above all, that someone in a Ferrari won the championship. Probably that doesn’t even make sense to the drivers today…”
Collins had married King, a Broadway actress, after a seven day romance. His new found happiness did not sit well with his employer. Ferrari was particularly fond of Collins. He regularly visited Ferrari’s dying son, Dino, and was subsequently given his apartment to live in. Ferrari, however, did not believe there was any room for intimate romantic relationships in motor racing.
Collins stayed at Ferrari for 1957, where he was joined by Hawthorn. Neither man won a Grand Prix that season. They had seemed in control at the Nurburgring until Fangio produce one of the greatest recovery drives in motor racing history to pass both of them.
Collins Suffers Fatal Crash in 1958 German GP
The 1958 season was going better. After a third place at Monaco, Collins utterly dominated the British Grand Prix, leaving Hawthorn to trail home a distant second. During the next race at the Nurburgring Collins was again on the pace. He was passed by Tony Brooks in a Vanwall but tried desperately to keep up with his countryman. On a difficult section of the epic circuit he made a mistake and suffered a crash which claimed his life.
It was fitting that Hawthorn should go on to win the 1958 World Championship but his life would also be cut short prematurely. After retiring from the sport he lost his life in a road accident early in 1959.
Lancia-Ferrari D50
|
Latest Articles