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Peter John Collins (6 November 1931 – 3 August 1958) was a British racing driver from England, who raced in Formula One. He was third in the championship in 1956.

He won three Grands Prix in 1956 and 1958. He was also the third British winner of the British Grand Prix, as he won it in 1958. At the very next race, the German Grand Prix, Collins lost his life after an accident on Lap 11, becoming the second of three drivers to die that year.

Career[]

Pre-Formula One[]

1952[]

Collins' debut came at the 1952 Swiss Grand Prix, but it was short, his race ending after 12 laps. Collins competed in much of the season, with a sixth place in the French Grand Prix his only finish.

1953[]

For 1953, Collins remained at HWM, had two finishes and two non-finishes.

1954[]

In 1954, driving for Tony Vandervell and his Vanwall outfit, he competed in the British Grand Prix, where his engine expired on lap 16, and the Italian Grand Prix where he was 7th.

1955[]

Collins competed for Maserati in two races, but both ended in retirement, his British Grand Prix cut short after 28 laps, and his Italian Grand Prix after 22.

1956[]

Collins, yet to score a single point or complete a full season in his career, joined Ferrari for the 1956 season and it was the season, that Collins would score his first win in Formula One. Said win came at the Belgian Grand Prix. He followed it with another victory in France a month later, and took the lead in the championship leading 5 points from Jean Behra.

However, after Collins had a disastrous weekend in Germany, his Ferrari springing a fuel leak, and also crashing in the shared car, the Argentine Juan Manuel Fangio snatched that lead, and ultimately, the title, with Collins falling to third.

1957[]

Collins had an average season, he scored points in France, Britain and Germany in his second season with Ferrari.

1958[]

Collins started his final season on a low with two retirements in the first three races. His last win, points and podium came at the British Grand Prix, and he became the first British F1 driver to win the British Grand Prix at Silverstone. But tragically the next race was to be his last.

Death[]

Collins was killed at the age of 26, at the 1958 German Grand Prix. The Briton was chasing Tony Brooks's Vanwall when he lost control on a turn at the Nürburgring and hit a ditch.

This caused his car to flip into the air, land upside-down and burst into flames.

Collins, however, was flung from his car but sustained fatal head injuries after hitting a tree. It served as another cruel blow for Ferrari, following the death of Italian Luigi Musso in the French Grand Prix the previous month. The third and final fatality was that of Vanwall driver Stuart Lewis-Evans at the season-ending Moroccan Grand Prix which cast a shadow over the whole season. The World Champion Mike Hawthorn was so disturbed by those tragedies, including the death of Collins, that he retired after the season and would himself die in a road crash in January 1959. Collins is buried in Worcestershire.

Formula One Statistical Overview[]

Formula One Record[]

Year Entrant Team WDC Points WDC Pos. Report
1952 HW Motors HWM-Alta 0 NC Report
1953 Scuderia Ferrari HWM-Alta 0 NC Report
1954 G A Vandervell Vanwall 0 NC Report
1955 Owen Racing Organisation
Officine Alfieri Maserati
Ferrari 0 NC Report
1956 Scuderia Ferrari Ferrari 25 3rd Report
1957 Scuderia Ferrari Ferrari 8 9th Report
1958 Scuderia Ferrari Ferrari 14 5th Report

Career Statistics[]

Entries 36
Starts 36
Pole Positions 0
Sprint Poles 0
Front Row Starts 8
Race Wins 3
Sprint Wins 0
Podiums 9
Sprint Podiums 0
Fastest Laps 0
Sprint Fastest Laps 0
Points 47
Laps Raced 1400
Distance Raced 8,722 km (5,420 mi)
Races Led 7
Laps Led 127
Distance Led 946 km (588 mi)


Career Results[]

Complete Formula One Results
Year 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Pts Pos
1952 Flag of Switzerland 48-star U S flag Flag of Belgium Flag of France Flag of the United Kingdom Flag of Germany Flag of the Netherlands Flag of Italy 0 NC
Ret Ret 6th Ret DNS DNQ
1953 Flag of Argentina 48-star U S flag Flag of the Netherlands Flag of Belgium Flag of France Flag of the United Kingdom Flag of Germany Flag of Switzerland Flag of Italy 0 NC
8th Ret 13th Ret
1954 Flag of Argentina 48-star U S flag Flag of Belgium Flag of France Flag of the United Kingdom Flag of Germany Flag of Switzerland Flag of Italy Flag of Spain 1945 1977 0 NC
Ret 7th DNS
1955 Flag of Argentina Flag of Monaco 48-star U S flag Flag of Belgium Flag of the Netherlands Flag of France Flag of the United Kingdom Flag of Germany Flag of Switzerland Flag of Italy Flag of Spain 1945 1977 0 NC
C Ret C C Ret C
1956 Flag of Argentina Flag of Monaco 48-star U S flag Flag of Belgium Flag of France Flag of the United Kingdom Flag of Germany Flag of Italy 25 3rd
Ret 2nd 1st 1st 2nd Ret 2nd
1957 Flag of Argentina Flag of Monaco 48-star U S flag Flag of France Flag of the United Kingdom Flag of Germany Abruzzo bandiera Flag of Italy 8 9th
6th Ret 3rd 4th 3rd Ret
1958 Flag of Argentina Flag of Monaco Flag of the Netherlands 48-star U S flag Flag of Belgium Flag of France Flag of the United Kingdom Flag of Germany Flag of Portugal Flag of Italy Flag of Morocco 14 5th
Ret 3rd Ret Ret 5th 1st Ret
Key
Symbol Meaning Symbol Meaning
1st Winner Ret Retired
2nd Podium finish DSQ Disqualified
3rd DNQ Did not qualify
5th Points finish DNPQ Did not pre-qualify
14th Non-points finish TD Test driver
Italics Scored point(s) for Fastest Lap DNS Did not start
18th Classified finish (retired with >90% race distance) NC Non-classified finish (<90% race distance)
4thP Qualified for pole position [+] More Symbols
V T E F1 drivers killed while racing
1952: Cameron Earl
1953: Chet Miller
1954: Onofre Marimón
1955: Manny Ayulo
1955: Bill Vukovich
1957: Eugenio Castellotti
1957: Keith Andrews
1958: Pat O'Connor
1958: Luigi Musso
1958: Peter Collins
1958: Stuart Lewis-Evans
1959: Jerry Unser
1959: Bob Cortner
1960: Chris Bristow
1960: Alan Stacey
1961: Giulio Cabianca
1961: Wolfgang von Trips
1964: Carel Godin de Beaufort
1966: John Taylor
1967: Lorenzo Bandini
1967: Bob Anderson
1968: Jo Schlesser
1969: Gerhard Mitter
1970: Bruce McLaren
1970: Piers Courage
1970: Jochen Rindt
1971: Ignazio Giunti
1971: Pedro Rodríguez
1971: Jo Siffert
1972: Jo Bonnier
1973: Roger Williamson
1973: François Cevert
1974: Peter Revson
1974: Helmuth Koinigg
1975: Mark Donohue
1977: Tom Pryce
1978: Ronnie Peterson
1980: Patrick Depailler
1982: Gilles Villeneuve
1982: Riccardo Paletti
1986: Elio de Angelis
1994: Roland Ratzenberger
1994: Ayrton Senna
2015: Jules Bianchi
See also: List of fatal accidents

External Links[]

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