Peter Collins (racing driver) : biography
Peter John Collins (6 November 1931 – 3 August 1958) was a Formula One driver from England. He participated in 35 World Championship Grands Prix, debuting on 18 May 1952. He won 3 races, achieved 9 podiums, and scored a total of 47 championship points.
Rivalry with Luigi Musso
Many years after the death of Peter Collins, Fiamma Breschi, Luigi Musso’s girlfriend at the time of his death, revealed the nature of the rivalry between Collins and Hawthorn with fellow Ferrari driver Musso in a television documentary, The Secret Life of Enzo Ferrari. Breschi recalled that the antagonism between Musso and the two English drivers encouraged all three to take more risks:
"The Englishmen (Hawthorn and Collins) had an agreement," she says. "Whichever of them won, they would share the winnings equally. It was the two of them against Luigi, who was not part of the agreement. Strength comes in numbers, and they were united against him. This antagonism was actually favourable rather than damaging to Ferrari. The faster the drivers went, the more likely it was that a Ferrari would win." Williams, Richard, Richard Williams Talks to Fiamma Breschi, the Woman Behind Enzo Ferrari, The Guardian, 22 January 2004
Early life and racing career
Peter Collins was born on 6 November 1931. He grew up in Mustow Green, on the south side of Kidderminster in Worcestershire, United Kingdom. The son of a motor garage owner and haulage merchant, Collins became interested in motor vehicles at a young age. At 16 he was expelled from school after having been caught riding ‘dodgem’ cars at a local fairground during school hours. Becoming an apprentice in his father’s garage, he soon began competing in local trials races.
In common with many British drivers of the immediate post-war period, Collins cut his racing teeth in the frenetic 500cc category (adopted as Formula 3 at the end of 1950), when his parents bought him a Cooper 500 from the fledgling Cooper Car Company. These small machines, powered by motorcycle engines, were also the proving ground of many of Collins’ F1 contemporaries, notably including Stirling Moss.
Complete World Championship Formula One results
(key; * shared drive)
Year | Entrant | Chassis | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | WDC | Points |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1952 | HW Motors | HWM 52 | Alta | SUIRet | 500 | BELRet | FRA6 | GBRRet | GERDNS | NED | ITADNQ | NC | 0 | |||
1953 | HW Motors | HWM 53 | Alta | ARG | 500 | NED8 | BELRet | FRA13 | GBRRet | GER | SUI | ITA | NC | 0 | ||
1954 | G A Vandervell | Vanwall Special | Vanwall | ARG | 500 | BEL | FRA | GBRRet | GER | SUI | ITA7 | ESPDNS | NC | 0 | ||
1955 | Owen Racing Organisation | Maserati 250F | Maserati | ARG | MON | 500 | BEL | NED | GBRRet | NC | 0 | |||||
Officine Alfieri Maserati | Maserati 250F | Maserati | ITARet | |||||||||||||
1956 | Scuderia Ferrari | Ferrari 555 | Ferrari | ARGRet | 3rd | 25 | ||||||||||
Lancia-Ferrari D50 | Ferrari | MON2* | 500 | BEL1 | FRA1 | GBR2 * | GERRet * | ITA2 * | ||||||||
1957 | Scuderia Ferrari | Lancia-Ferrari D50 | Ferrari | ARG6 * | 9th | 8 | ||||||||||
Ferrari 801 | Ferrari | MONRet | 500 | FRA3 | GBR4 * | GER3 | PES | ITARet | ||||||||
1958 | Scuderia Ferrari | Ferrari Dino 246 | Ferrari | ARGRet | MON3 | NEDRet | 500 | BELRet | FRA5 | GBR1 | GERRet | POR | ITA | MOR | 5th | 14 |