Peter Collins
Life is short, the course of glory is everlastingae.
Marcus Tullius Cicero
Peter Collins was one of the most cheerful, friendly and open-hearted drivers in the history of motorsport, who had enough talent to become the first British Formula-1 champion. Unfortunately, a tragic accident ended Peter’s life at the very moment when he was at the peak of his form, while in the history of motor racing he will forever be remembered as the person who did not win the championship title, but voluntarily gave it up.
Peter Collins was born on November 6, 1931 in Kidderminster, Worcestershire, in the family of a very successful garage owner, and, being very close to his father, he became interested in cars from a very early age and dreamed of becoming a racing driver. At the same time, having a not very strong thirst for knowledge and a rather restless character, young Peter did not study well at school, becoming a real headache for his teachers, while, having been caught truant several times, he eventually achieved expulsion and already at the age of 16 began his adult life, getting a job as an apprentice in his father's garage. It should be noted that Peter's father, Pat, in his heart of hearts was only glad of this turn of events, hoping that involved in the family business, his son would eventually become his successor, and he indulged Peter in everything, even in his quest to become a racing driver. Peter received his first racing car, a Cooper Mk II, as a gift from his parents for his 17th birthday, and as soon as he got behind the wheel, he was able to demonstrate his extraordinary talent in his very first year of racing, winning two Formula-3 competitions at Silverstone and Goodwood.
Meanwhile, the following year, 1950, Peter used his own money to purchase two more Cooper Mk III and IV racing cars, which brought him not only two more victories at Prescott Hill and Castle Combe, but also a number of podiums in other races of British Formula-3 Championship.
At the same time, one of the Englishman's most important achievements that year was his 3rd place in the 500cc race at Silverstone, which preceded the first ever Formula-1 World Championship Grand Prix, where he, having received greetings from the royal family before the start, managed to achieve a podium, finishing right behind another rising star of British motorsport, Stirling Moss.
Meanwhile, in 1951, Peter was already driving a JBS, equipped with a Norton engine, and with the new car even greater successes came to him, which included victories in Altcar, Dundrod, Winfield, Ibsley, Gamston and Silverstone and which brought him 3rd place in the British Formula-3 Championship. However, it cannot be said that this year was completely cloudless for the young Englishman, since, in addition to victories, Peter then had to face the death of his two friends Alf Bottoms and Curley Dryden, while he himself also had his first serious accident, which occurred due to his mistake at Woodcote during the next race at Silverstone.
Be that as it may, having achieved truly amazing results this season, Collins managed to come to the attention of several heads of British racing teams, and, having performed superbly at the Silverstone tests driving an Aston Martin DB3 sports car, Peter managed to impress not only the head the motorsport division of the Gaydon company, John Wyer, but also the head of HWM, John Heath, who was also testing his new Formula-2 car there. The result of these tests was that Collins signed contracts with both teams, and already in 1952 Peter became not only a combat racer for Aston Martin in the sports car championship, but also the main driver for HWM in circuit racing, thus becoming the youngest participant in the World Championship at the age of 20 and a half years! (this record was subsequently surpassed only in 1961 by 19-year-old Ricardo Rodriguez).
However, despite high expectations, the first Formula season was not very successful for the young Englishman. Despite Collins' obvious talent, which allowed him to achieve very good results in qualifying, in the races the HWM cars could not boast of either speed or reliability, and at the end of the season Peter was never able to score a single point, while his best result was 6th at the French Grand Prix, where he was remembered for his excellent fight for position with another talented compatriot, Mike Hawthorn.
As for the sports car championship, things went much better for Peter, where, at the wheel of Aston Martin, he managed to win his first major victory at the "Goodwood 9 Hours" race.
Meanwhile, the next year, 1953, also did not bring Peter much success in the Formula championship, becoming, by and large, an almost exact copy of the previous one. Without a sufficient budget for the development, the HWM team could afford only minor modernization of last year's cars, and in the face of the overwhelming advantage of the Ferrari and Maserati drivers, Collins again failed to score a single point in the World Championship, while his best achievement this season was 3rd place in the non-championship Eifelrennen Grand Prix.
At the same time, in the sports car championship, the Englishman again looked more than convincing, winning the Tourist Trophy race at the wheel of an Aston Martin DB3S and scoring two more podiums in the British Grand Prix and Goodwood.
Of course, such a clear discrepancy in the results of the Englishman in the championships of the two classes gave rise to certain thoughts, and, having made the right conclusions, Peter left HWM at the end of the season, joining another British team, Vanwall. However, in 1954, Tony Vanderwell's team was only at the very beginning of their glorious journey, so in the history of this team, Peter remained only that very driver who brought their first own designed car, the Vanwall Special, to the track.
Moreover, given that the development of this car took quite a long time, Collins that year managed to take part in only two championship Grand Prix in Great Britain and Italy, while, having experienced technical problems in both, Peter once again finished the season without a single point.
However, despite another failure in Formula-1, the Englishman managed to fully rehabilitate himself that year in the Formula Libre races, where, driving a 4.5-liter Ferrari Thinwall Special provided to him by Vanderwell, Peter managed to win a series of victories, becoming a real a bone in the throat of the BRM drivers, who were considered the main favorites for this competition.
As for the sports car championship, Collins, as usual, felt like a fish in water there, and, having performed several excellent races, Peter managed to add to his achievements a victory at the British Grand Prix and two more podiums in Buenos Aires and Aintree.
Meanwhile, impressed by Collins' performances in Formula Libre, the head of BRM Alfred Owen considered it necessary to lure the Englishman to himself at all costs, and in 1955 Peter came under his wing, becoming the main driver of the Bourne team. However, as in the case of Vanwall, BRM then were just beginning their first steps in Formula-1, and not having their own-designed car, they provided the Englishman with a Maserati 250F, in which he took part in two championship Grand Prix in Great Britain and Italy.
Unfortunately, due to technical problems, Peter never got to see the checkered flag in any of them, although at his home stage the Englishman looked simply great, having managed, after problems in qualifying and starting from the last row, to make his way to 7th position. Meanwhile, in Formula Libre, Peter managed to fully meet Owen's expectations, bringing him victories in the Chichester Cup, London Trophy, BARC Trophy, as well as a triumph in the Formula-1 non-championship BRDC International Trophy, whereas the Englishman also performed very successfully in the sports car championship, driving his Aston Martin to podium finishes at the British Grand Prix, Snetterton, Goodwood and Oulton Park, as well as finishing second in the infamous 24 Hours of Le Mans.
However, despite the success achieved, Collins was clearly aiming for more, so when his former HWM teammate Stirling Moss offered him a seat behind the wheel of a Mercedes 300 SLR as his co-driver in the Targa Florio race, he did not hesitate for a second, agreed.
It should be noted that, being the last, it was this stage that became decisive in the fight for the sports car championship title, and that day, thanks to his amazing skill, Peter managed not only to win a truly brilliant victory together with Moss, but also to contribute to the triumph of the German team, which still managed to defeat their rivals from Scuderia Ferrari.
Naturally, after such a strong performance, the Englishman immediately found himself among the main contenders for a place in the Silver Arrows next year, however, given the strong resonance caused by the tragedy at Le Mans, the management of Daimler-Benz still decided to finally leave motorsport and thus Peter's cooperation with the Stuttgart team was limited to only that one race.
Nevertheless, despite the missed opportunity to become a Silver Arrow racer, Peter did not lose heart at all, hoping that sooner or later his day would come, and very soon fate smiled at him, presenting him with a truly royal gift. At the end of 1955, his best friend Mike Hawthorn, who at that time was one of the leading Ferrari drivers, unexpectedly left the scarlet team, citing the need to care for his widowed mother, and, having a certain weight in the eyes of the Commendatore, the Englishman advised him to take his friend instead of him. At the same time, even despite the fact that it was Collins who was, in fact, one of the main “culprits” of his team’s defeat in the sports car championship, Enzo Ferrari, after that memorable race, was himself deeply impressed by the Englishman’s skill, so he almost without any hesitation took Hawthorn's advice and offered Peter a contract for 1956.
Naturally, being behind the wheel of a racing Ferrari, both then and now, was the ultimate dream of any driver, so, seeing this as a real chance of a lifetime, Peter grabbed it with both hands and did everything in his power not to disappoint his new boss. Wanting to adapt to his new team as quickly as possible, the Englishman, after concluding a contract, immediately moved to Modena and began to intensively study the Italian language, while, having met and become a close friend of his beloved son Dino, with whom they were almost the same age, Collins quickly managed to enter the closest circle of the Commendatore..
Meanwhile, in the Scuderia itself, after the extremely disappointing 1955, a rather serious reorganization was carried out during that period. In addition to Collins, the main drivers of the Scuderia were two young talented Italians Eugenio Castellotti and Luigi Musso, while the leader of the scarlet team was none other than the “great and terrible” Juan-Manuel Fangio himself.
As for the technical side, having been disappointed in last year’s “Super Sharks”, Enzo Ferrari made every effort to get his hands on the magnificent Lancia D50s, which remained out of work after the Turin team left Formula-1, and, having succeeded in this matter, Commendatore handed his drivers a truly worthy weapon, with which they had every chance to compete for the championship title.
The first stage of the 1956 Formula-1 championship took place, as usual, in Argentina, however, this debut Grand Prix for Scuderia did not turn out very well for Peter. Being a newcomer to the team, Collins received last year’s “Super Shark” at his disposal, and being seriously inferior to his teammates in speed, he managed to show only 9th result in qualifying, while Fangio, Castellotti and Musso, driving the new Ferrari D50, managed to take three first places on the starting field. In the race, Peter looked much better, managing to get into 5th position by the middle of the race, however, due to an error made by a driver lagging behind, who braked sharply right in front of his Ferrari, the Englishman flew off the track and ultimately never saw the checkered flag.
However, Collins managed to fully rehabilitate himself already at the second stage, which took place on the narrow streets of Monte Carlo, where he showed himself not only to be a great racer, but also an excellent team player.
Having first received the new Ferrari D50 at his disposal, Peter was clearly cautious in training, achieving, as in Argentina, only 9th place on the starting grid, however, having managed to make a truly grandiose start, the Englishman made his way to 3rd position already on the first lap, which soon became 2nd when Fangio made an unusual mistake and spun across the track. It is worth noting that in that Grand Prix the Argentinean seemed to be replaced all, and having made a couple more mistakes during the race, he eventually managed to turn his car into real trash. Collins himself, on the contrary, drove his car easily and confidently, without interfering with Juan Manuel at all in the first part of the race, when he tried to regain the positions lost after his spin, and easily overtaking him back when Fangio's car became almost uncontrollable.
When, in the middle of the race, the Englishman still received a signal from the pits to stop and give his car to his titled teammate, Collins unquestioningly obeyed the order, demonstrating a truly team spirit, and thus Peter that day won not only his first podium in Formula-1, which he shared with the Argentine, but also the high approval of the entire team, including the Commendatore himself.
Meanwhile, the third stage of the championship, which took place in Belgium, became a complete triumph for the Englishman at all. Encouraged by his excellent performance in Monaco, Peter this time proved to be very fast already in qualifying, where he lost only to Fangio and Moss, and in the race he only confirmed his high speed, easily holding 3rd position behind the aforementioned pair.
When first his compatriot and then the Argentine encountered technical problems, it was Collins who found himself at the head of the race, which he eventually brought to a victorious finish, thus becoming only the third Briton, after Hawthorn and Moss, to taste the victorious champagne in the Formula-1 Grand Prix!
However, very soon the joy of his first victory was overshadowed for Peter by the news of the death of his newfound friend Dino, who passed away at the age of 24 due to a long-standing incurable illness. Having congenital muscular dystrophy, Dino, as a child, began to experience serious problems with coordination, which only progressed with age, and for the last month or two, Commendatore’s son did not get out of bed at all, although he still took an active part in the development of his favorite brainchild, 1.5-liter V6 engine. Collins himself, to give him his due, almost until his friend’s death visited him in the hospital and supported him as best he could, telling him about everything that was happening in the outside world, be it events from his racing or personal life, gossip inside the paddock or the latest news from the world of cinema. When Dino passed away, Peter, with his inherent cheerfulness, was able to quickly cope with the pain of loss, and already at the fourth stage, which took place in France, the Englishman gave another excellent result.
As in Belgium, on the fast track of Reims the Ferraris were once again out of contention and, with their top three times in practice, Fangio, Castellotti and Collins easily won the entire front row of the grid. However, in the race itself, the Scuderia's position suddenly came under threat when the American Harry Schell in a Vanwall, using the excellent aerodynamic characteristics of his car, began to show an incredible pace and by the middle of the distance managed to completely close his gap with the trio of Ferrari drivers, who were in full confidence that they were a lap ahead of him. When the Scuderia manager finally realized what was happening and sounded the alarm, it was already too late, but Collins and Castellotti, not at all taken aback, showed an example of true teamwork and literally stood in front of Schell as a wall, not allowing him to get closer to their leader.
However, Harry also turned out to be not a fool, and, still having found a loophole in their defense, the American managed to overtake both of his rivals with one beautiful maneuver, after which he began to press on Fangio. Naturally, it turned out to be not so easy to cope with the great champion, and having repelled all the attacks of the Vanwall driver, Fangio easily rushed forward, while Schell himself, a little later, one after another, let two of the Argentine’s teammates through again and then stopped in the pits altogether with a faulty fuel pump. However, Fangio himself also was unable to avoid problems in that race, and, in his turn stopping in the pits with a crack in the fuel line, the Argentine again missed the victory, giving it to his young teammates. As for Collins and Castellotti, having received a real chance to win the Grand Prix, they immediately staged an incredible battle for the leadership among themselves, which became a real highlight of the race, however, its final outcome was decided by an order from the pits.
Ten laps before the finish, having seen enough of the struggle of his drivers, Scuderia manager Eraldo Sculatti said “Basta!” and ordered them to maintain their positions, and since it was the Englishman who was in front at that moment, it was he who eventually crossed the finish line first, thus winning his second victory in a row.
Meanwhile, thanks to a series of successful performances, it was Peter who unexpectedly found himself the leader of the championship after the French Grand Prix, already six points ahead of Fangio, which, naturally, did not suit the Argentine champion, who, contrary to usual, too often this season experienced technical malfunctions. Realizing that at least one more retirement could finally decide the outcome of the title in favor of his young teammate, Juan Manuel, on the eve of the British Grand Prix, decided to go all-in and, threatening to leave the team, demanded to provide his own mechanic at his disposal, hoping that this will be able to change the reliability situation for the better. Considering that at that moment Enzo Ferrari was still crushed by grief after the death of his beloved son, the final decision in this matter remained with Sculatti, and the Italian, having violated the internal regulations of the team, still succumbed to the blackmail of the Argentine champion and eventually gave him what he wants. As subsequent events showed, Fangio’s efforts were not in vain, and, without experiencing the slightest technical problems, the Argentine won in Great Britain his second victory of the season, while Collins, on the contrary, due to a failed oil pump, was forced to change his car during the race and he ended up earning only half the points for second place, which he shared with his new teammate de Portago.
However, the truly decisive was the next round, which took place at the German Nürburgring and to which both contenders for the title came up with almost equal points. In qualifying, Fangio and Collins were almost as good as each other, and although the Argentine was still ahead, he managed to beat Peter by only 0.3 seconds, which was as much as nothing for such a difficult track as the Nordschleife. In the race itself, Peter also looked great, driving his car almost as confidently as his titled teammate, however, as at the previous stage, he was let down by his car.
Even on the first lap, a small crack appeared in the fuel line of his Ferrari, and gasoline vapors escaping through it began to flow directly into the cockpit. Having inhaled these fumes, Peter was almost on the verge of losing consciousness by the middle of the race, however, despite the intoxication, he still managed to safely bring his car to the pits, where he handed it over to Castellotti. When the Englishman came to his senses a little, he returned to the race again behind the wheel of de Portago's car to the cheers of his team, however, despite his efforts, Peter failed to take full advantage of his second chance. Trying to catch up with Moss, who was in 2nd, Collins overdid it and flew off the track and, although he managed to avoid any injuries at the time, after another victory by Fangio his position in the championship was dealt a very noticeable blow.
The last stage of the 1956 World Championship took place at the superfast autodrome in Monza, and, remembered for a whole series of the most exciting and dramatic events, as well as a completely unexpected outcome of the fight for the championship title, it became a worthy end to this interesting and extremely tense season. Having an eight-point advantage over Collins, Fangio arrived at Monza as the undoubted favorite of the championship, while Peter's chances for the title were, to put it mildly, slim, since he not only needed to win this Grand Prix, but also hope that the Argentine will not score a single extra point.
However, already in training, Ferrari cars began to experience serious problems with tires (which was a consequence of excessive loads in high-speed banking), therefore, even having won another pole position, the Argentine champion did not radiate much confidence in the successful outcome of the race. In an attempt to increase his chances of success, Fangio before the start tried to convince his teammates Castellotti and Musso, who became his front-row neighbors, to let him lead early in the race so that he could set the desired pace and delay the first pit stop as long as possible, however , two Italians, who dreamed of showing off in front of their compatriots, proudly rejected the offer of the Argentine champion and, rushing forward from the very start, immediately staged a real battle between themselves.
At the same time, as the Argentinean foresaw, the tires on fully fueled cars did not last long at this pace, and already on the fifth lap both Italians had to pull into the pits for new wheels, while Fangio himself, having let Moss and Schell through at the start, decided to stick with of his tactics and did not push too hard, carefully watching the condition of his tires. However, luck was clearly not on his side that day, and already on the 18th lap the Argentine was forced to pit with a broken steering arm, after which he could only rely on the help of his teammates. Considering that by that time Castellotti was already out of the race, Fangio expected to take a seat behind the wheel of Musso’s car, who had a very confident race and after his first stop had already made it to second place, however, that day Luigi clearly had no intention to give up his car to anyone, even if he was a three-time champion, and therefore, in response to Sculatti’s request to help out his leader, the Italian only waved him off, after which he stepped on the gas and sped away.
Meanwhile, Collins, who after a not very successful qualifying started only 7th and who seemed to have completely said goodbye to thoughts of victory, gradually, step by step, made his way through in the race, with the result that by two thirds of the distance the Englishman found himself already neither more nor less, but in 3rd position, conceding only to Moss and his teammate Musso.
Considering that there was still a third of the distance ahead, and Fangio had already retired and had no way to return to the race, Peter's chances for the title were rapidly increasing, so what happened on the 36th lap of the race during his next pit stop was truly an incredible event, inscribed in golden letters in the glorious history of Formula-1. Having stopped in the pits for the next tire change, Peter saw his main rival there, who, after Musso’s demarche, was left out of work and now could only powerlessly watch the course of the race, and as soon as Peter crossed the Argentine’s gaze, he immediately understood everything and did own choice. While the mechanics were working on his wheels, the Englishman got out of the cockpit, took a step towards Fangio and immediately, without any ambiguity, invited him to take a seat in his car, thereby actually giving up further fight for the championship title!
At the same time, for the Argentine champion, who was not looking for anything but victories in racing, such a generous offer from his young teammate turned out to be so unexpected that at first he did not even believe his own ears, however, when the meaning of what was happening finally reached him, Juan Manuel could not express his admiration in any words and only silently hugged Peter, after which he jumped into his car and rushed towards his fourth title.
As subsequent events showed, Collins could indeed become champion that day, since both Moss and Musso faced serious problems at the end of the race, and thus everything went to the point that it was Peter who had to celebrate the victory as in this Grand Prix, and in the overall standings. However, the Englishman himself did not consider himself deprived at all, believing that Fangio deserved the title more that year (which was quite fair), and that he himself still had enough time ahead to achieve what he wanted. In addition, an equally significant circumstance was that, according to Collins himself, he was simply not ready to accept the burden of fame that accompanied the title of champion, and to give up all the delights of his easy and carefree life, which he treasured so much and which inspired him to feats on the race tracks. Be that as it may, this year, even without a championship title, turned out to be truly magnificent for the Englishman, since, in addition to success in Formula-1, he also managed to shine in the sports car championship, where he won victories in the Giro de Sicilia and Supercortemaggiore, and also achieved second places in the prestigious races Mille Miglia and 24 Hours of Le Mans.
Naturally, after so many achievements, Peter easily extended his contract with the Scuderia for another two years, while the Commendatore himself, impressed by his talent, generosity and dedication to the team, as well as remembering his strong friendship with Dino, looked at Peter almost as a member of the family.
However, even all these successes soon faded into the background for Peter, when in the off-season he finally met his true love, which he carried in his heart until the very last days of his life. Being naturally very handsome and charming, the Englishman from his very youth enjoyed great success with the opposite sex, whom he adored (“I like girls!” - this was the sticker that decorated the rear wing of his Ford Zephyr), and for many years he enjoyed his popularity to the fullest, becoming known in the motorsport world as one of the most successful ladies' man.
However, having decided to spend a few days of his vacation in Miami in early February 1957, Peter accidentally ended up on a blind date with 24-year-old American actress Louise King (whose phone number was kindly provided to him by another famous womanizer of those times, Stirling Moss), and this meeting turned out to be truly fateful for both of them. Being a star of the Broadway theater, Louise, who at that time was called the American Ingrid Bergman, was in Miami on tour of the theatrical production "The Seven Year Itch", where she played the main character Marilyn Monroe,
and, having met her after a performance at the bar of the Coconut Grove Playhouse theater, Peter was so captivated by her that two days later he proposed to her, and after only a week of their acquaintance they got married!
Naturally, such a hasty marriage caused the most heated talk both inside and outside the paddock, however, if Louise’s father, who, for a moment, was neither more nor less than an American diplomat at the UN, came to terms with his daughter’s choice quite quickly (in which the natural charm of the groom played a very important role), then for Peter’s parents, the marriage of their son with an actress (and an American, and a divorcee at that!) was a real shock. Meanwhile, in addition to the Collinses, Peter's marriage was also disapproved of by the Commendatore, however, the head of the Scuderia had his own motives. According to Signor Ferrari, deep affection for anyone was contraindicated for drivers, since it made them rethink the risks and thereby prevented them from giving 100 percent on the track, so although he was very supportive of the love affairs of his drivers, considering them a special manifestation of their machismo, he almost equally strongly disapproved of their serious relationships.
However, even despite some disappointment with Peter’s decision, the Commendatore did not show his dissatisfaction in any way, and, even moreover, he still continued to take an active part in the fate of the Englishman, placing at the disposal of the two newlyweds the Villa Rosa mansion near the team’s headquarters in Maranello.
Meanwhile, Collins himself was in the best spirits before the start of the new season, inspired not only by his marriage to Louise, but also by the return to the Scuderia of his bosom friend (or “mon ami mate”, as they called each other) Mike Hawthorn.
Besides, given that Mike replaced none other than Juan Manuel Fangio in the team, who at the end of 1956 decided to leave the “scarlets” and move to the camp of their main rivals from Maserati, the place of the leader in the Scuderia remained vacant, and Peter, on par with all his teammates, received the same status, which allowed them to compete with each other without regard to team orders. However, despite such rosy prospects, 1957 turned out to be a complete disappointment for Collins, and Fortune, which had favored the Englishman throughout the previous season, now seemed to have completely turned away from him..
It all started at the first round in Argentina, where all the Ferrari drivers suddenly found themselves victims of massive clutch failures, and unfortunately, this fate did not escape Collins, who that day had one of the best Grand Prix of his career and who by the time of his retirement had already managed to pass four of his rivals and confidently lead the race.
Meanwhile, for the next stage, which took place on the Monte Carlo street circuit, the Scuderia had already managed to prepare their new Ferrari 801 cars (which were a further development of the same Lancia D50s), however, this was not the best period in the history of the Maranello team, which in the spring, literally one after another, lost two of their drivers, Eugenio Castellotti and Alfonso de Portago, who gave their lives at the tests in Modena and in the Mille Miglia race, respectively. Nonetheless, despite the depressed mood of the entire team, in the principality Peter again proved himself to be a great guy, having managed to be one of the fastest drivers on the track in trainings, however, in the Grand Prix itself he was unlucky again. Having repulsed all the attacks of his rivals at the very beginning of the race, Collins for several laps put serious pressure on the leading Moss (who was already racing for the British Vanwall this year) and eventually succeeded in forcing him to make a mistake, which, however, in the end cost both of them dearly .
Unable to brake in time before the chicane, Moss crashed into the barrier on the 5th lap, completely destroying it, and the logs that fell directly onto the track left Peter with absolutely no room for maneuver, as a result of which he also finished the race in the fence, parking his car on the other side of the circuit.
Nevertheless, despite two failures in a row, Collins did not give up hope of turning the situation in his favor, and at the next stage, which took place in Rouen, France, he still managed to see the checkered flag and earn his first points.
However, this Grand Prix also did not pass without problems for him, and due to an untimely acting up gearbox, Peter not only lost any opportunity to compete with Fangio for victory, but also let his teammate Musso through, who, unlike the Englishman, had no problems in the race.
Meanwhile, the next Grand Prix, which took place at his home track in Aintree, also did not bring any relief to the Englishman, and, having retired once again (this time due to engine overheating), Collins, who at the beginning of the season was considered one of the main contenders for the title, came to the equator of the championship with only four points.
Meanwhile, while failures rained down on Peter, as if from a cornucopia, Fangio, almost without any visible effort, was able to win three of the first four stages, and thus the Argentinean made it quite clear to all his rivals that he did not intend to concede the championship to anyone this year either. At the same time, Juan Manuel put the final point in the fight for the title at the next stage in Germany, which took place at the famous Nordschleife, where he had perhaps the greatest race of his life. In that Grand Prix, the Maserati team had to resort to a one-stop strategy due to severe tire wear, and the Argentine champion had to push hard from the very start in order to create a sufficient gap over his pursuers. However, no matter how hard Juan Manuel tried, all his efforts were negated by the sluggishness of one of the mechanics, who accidentally dropped a wheel hub nut during a pit stop, and as a result, the Argentine not only failed to maintain the lead, but also ended up far behind Hawthorn and Collins, who at that time were engaged in a heated battle among themselves for second position.
When the two Britons were informed about Fangio's problems, they immediately stopped their battle so as not to risk a possible double for their team, and, having caught up with Mike, Peter once again showed an example of true nobility, gesturing to his friend to understand that he was ready to concede him victory and be content with second place.
However, all these plans were never destined to come true, since the Maestro turned out to be truly unstoppable that day, and, having managed to win back 45 (!) seconds from two Scuderia drivers in 8 laps, the Argentine passed them both one after another, after which he won the race, and with it his fifth title.
As it turned out, the points earned in Germany were the last for Peter this season, and after missing the stage in Pescara and another failure in Monza, where due to engine problems he again lost the opportunity to get on the podium, Collins at the end of the championship was only only 8th.
Naturally, such a weak result did not impress Enzo Ferrari at all, who saw in this the first signs of Collins’ fatigue from racing (which, given the technical problems that constantly haunted Peter, was, of course, not entirely fair), and in his soul began to brew dissatisfaction with the Englishman, who, completely unaware of the clouds gathering over him, only continued to add fuel to the fire, deciding in the off-season to move out of the apartment provided to him in Maranello and settle with Louise on his own yacht in Monte Carlo. Meanwhile, the main beneficiary of the obvious discord between Collins and Commendatore turned out to be Luigi Musso, who, having managed to overcome all his teammates in the last championship, received the unspoken status of the new leader of the “scarlets”, however, Peter did not seem to care at all, and he spent most of the off-season on his yacht, relaxing in Louise and Mike's company and hoping to achieve greater success in the future.
And Peter’s hopes turned out to be by no means groundless. Realizing that the main blame for the lack of victories in 1957 lay not with the drivers, but with the already quite outdated cars, Commendatore decided to abandon the further development of the Ferrari 801s and ordered the chief designer of the Scuderia, Vittorio Jano, to prepare new cars for the new season. Considering that there was little time left for development, Jano decided to take as a basis the Ferrari 156 cars, which had proven themselves well in Formula-2, and, increasing the displacement of their engines to 2.4 liters, he received ready-made Formula-1 bolids, which turned out to be not only very light, but also one of the most powerful in the peleton.
Besides, another serious advantage of these cars was that their power units were initially designed to work on commercial fuel (which, by the way, was a significant contribution of Dino Ferrari, who, along with Jano, could be called the father of these engines), and thus, they perfectly complied with the new regulations introduced in 1958, which prohibited the use of alcohol-based fuel in Formula-1. When the Scuderia drivers took their Ferrari 246 Dinos onto the track for the first time, they immediately realized that their time had finally come, and, inspired by the prospects, Collins began the new racing season with a bang, managing to score two magnificent victories in sports car races "1000 km of Buenos Aires" and "12 Hours of Sebring".
However, in Formula-1, things went wrong for the Englishman again. Despite the obvious potential, in the first races of the season the new Ferraris showed themselves to be not very reliable, and for some unknown reason, Peter, like last year, suffered from technical problems much more often than his teammates.
At the first stage, which took place, as usual, in Argentina, Collins turned out to be one of the fastest drivers in qualifying, managing to quite easily win a place in the front row of the starting grid, however, in the Grand Prix itself, due to a broken intermediate shaft, he was unable to drive even a hundred meters.
Meanwhile, at the next stage in Monaco, the Englishman’s problems began already in training, and due to an incomprehensible vibration of the car, he managed to qualify only 9th, while in the race itself, given the difficulty of overtaking on this narrow street circuit, Peter spent most of the distance behind his teammate Musso, and in the end the main prize rather unexpectedly went to Maurice Trintignant in a much less powerful Cooper, who managed to get ahead of both Scuderia drivers.
As for the third stage, which took place in the sand dunes of Zandvoort, it turned out to be a complete failure for Collins. Having again shown only the 10th result in qualifying, Peter looked almost as unconvincing in the race, and the ultimate dream of his in this Grand Prix was the fight with Brabham for a place at the end of the top ten, which eventually ended for him with another retirement, this time due to a jammed gearbox.
Nonetheless, despite the setbacks that haunted him, Collins did not lose heart, and given that the next two stages were to be held at fast tracks in Spa and Reims, where the Ferraris had a clear speed advantage, the Englishman hoped to achieve more outstanding results. And already the first of these stages, which took place in Belgium, clearly showed that Peter still got it. Having managed to qualify this time in a fairly high 4th position, the Englishman managed to get ahead of both of his teammates at the very start, after which he hung on the tail of the leading Brooks, and already at the beginning of the 2nd lap he passed his compatriot through, thus getting the lead in the race!
However, Tony was also clearly on fire that day, and over the next few laps he constantly tormented Collins with his counterattacks, as a result of which the lead in the race constantly passed back and forth to one or the other of the Englishman. Unfortunately for Peter, the outcome of this fight was finally resolved already on the 6th lap by another breakdown on his car (this time the engine overheated), and thus this promising Grand Prix also ended in nothing for him.
Naturally, Collins’ constant failures did not add to his popularity at all in the eyes of the Commendatore, however, the last straw that overflowed the patience of the head of the Scuderia was an incident that occurred in the famous sports car race “24 Hours of Le Mans”. That year, Collins' co-driver on the Sarthe circuit was his friend Hawthorn, and with almost identical dislike for the long and grueling race, the two Britons began to half-jokingly discuss just before the start what they would do with their new Ferrari 250 Testa Rossa to get this matter over with quickly and be home in time for Sunday lunch. Having started the race first, Mike, who rarely wasted his words, began to squeeze everything possible out of his Ferrari from the very first laps of the race, which allowed him to quite confidently hold second position behind the leading Moss in the Aston Martin, however, even before he handed the car over to his friend, he managed to seriously damage the clutch, which eventually failed when it was Collins already on the track.
Having parked his scarlet car at the side of the road, Peter walked back to the pits, after which he, Mike and Louise immediately left the track and, voila, the next day at noon all three were enjoying a magnificent lunch at Hawthorn's mansion in Farnham, washing it down with no less than great local beer.
Naturally, when the Commendatore heard rumors about such a disparaging attitude of his drivers towards one of the main motorsport events of the season, he was beside himself with anger, and even the fact that victory at Le Mans ultimately went to the second pair of his drivers, Phil Hill and Olivier Gendebien, could not calm him down. Well, when later the mechanics managed to bring the car of the Britons to the pits on its own and reported that the clutch was still working, Enzo could no longer be stopped, and thirsting for blood, he chose Collins as his victim. At the same time, it should be noted that Musso also promptly threw some more firewood into the fire raging inside the Commendatore, complaining to him about the constant harassment from the two Britons, and, thus deciding to kill two birds with one stone, Enzo immediately promised the Italian, that Collins won't give him any more trouble.
Arriving at the fifth round of the championship in Reims, the unsuspecting Englishman was shocked by the news that his place in the Formula-1 car was given to the team's reserve driver Wolfgang von Trips, while he himself was assigned the role of only an auxiliary driver in the Formula-2 race, which preceded the main Grand Prix. Having turned to team manager Romolo Tavoni for clarification, Peter received the answer that this order had come from the very top, and immediately putting two and two together, the Englishman realized that this time the Old Man took it seriously. Seeing no other choice, Collins tried to persuade Tavoni to give him a second chance, if he managed to bring the team a decent result in the support race (and, having won 2nd place, he fulfilled his promise), however, most likely, nothing would have come of the whole idea anyway if Hawthorn had not intervened in the situation. Having learned about his friend's problems, Mike immediately called Enzo Ferrari and threatened him with his own refusal to participate in the Grand Prix if Peter was not allowed to compete, and, given that at that time he was Moss' main rival in the fight for the title, Commendatore had to back down and let Collins start the race.
However, despite the situation being successfully resolved for him, the Grand Prix itself did not turn out very well for Collins again. Starting from 4th position, the Englishman already on the 5th lap found himself at the very tail of the field, when a fallen air intake came under his brake pedal, while already at the very end of the race his Ferrari ran out of fuel, and the remaining few hundred meters he had to push his car with his own hands, as a result of which he reached the finish line only 5th.
However, even despite another failure of the Englishman, for the Commendatore it no longer mattered, since, by tragic accident, it was in this Grand Prix that Luigi Musso lost his life, and thus the head of the Scuderia had no other choice but to pin his hopes on two British friends.
However, the lesson learned in France was not in vain for Peter, and already at the next stage, which took place at his home track in Silverstone, he was able to fully reveal his talent, having perhaps the best race of his life. Having qualified this time in 6th position, Collins performed a real miracle at the very start, overtaking five of his rivals at once, while already in the second turn he left behind the leading Moss and thus led the race!
When Stirling, taken aback by such agility, tried to sit on Peter’s tail and regain the lead, he was unpleasantly surprised by the absolutely phenomenal speed of his compatriot, who managed, balancing on the edge of tire grip, to filigree through all the turns of Silverstone, and, no matter how hard he tried, he not only could not get closer to Collins, but, lap after lap, lagged behind him even more and more!
When, at the cost of incredible efforts, Moss managed by the 22nd lap to stabilize his lag, stopping it at around 6 seconds, it became obvious that the outcome of this race would depend entirely on the reliability of their cars, and, to Peter’s great relief, the engine on his rival's car was the first to fail this time, which gave up just four laps later. After that, nothing could stop the Englishman on his way to his triumphant finish, and when he finally crossed the finish line first and stood on the podium with Mike, the entire paddock applauded this incredible success... completely unaware that the next race at the German Nurburgring would be the last in Peter's life.
On that day, August 3, 1958, the Ferrari and Vanwall drivers took to the start line, preparing for another uncompromising fight with each other, however, the moral superiority was still on the side of Hawthorn and Collins, who managed to win the last two stages and were full determined to continue their winning streak. And after Moss, who had started the race superbly, was once again let down by his car already on the 4th lap, thus giving the lead in the race into the hands of Mike and Peter, it seemed that this Grand Prix would be an exact copy of the previous one and would end with another triumph of Scuderia drivers.
However, that day the scarlets still found another worthy opponent who was not going to give them victory so easily, and that person was the second Vanwall driver Tony Brooks. Having started the race not very confidently, Tony, after his teammate retired, suddenly began to show an incredible pace, and while Peter and Mike were busy fighting with each other, he managed to completely close his gap to the Ferrari pair in a few laps and immediately hung on their tail.
Having experienced something of a sense of déjà vu, Hawthorn and Collins, who clearly had no intention of missing out on victory at the Nordschleife for the second year in a row, used the full power of their engines on the straights to keep their rival behind, however, through the numerous turns of Green Hell, the Vanwall felt much more confident, and on the 11th lap Brooks still left two scarlet cars behind, after which he immediately began to break away.
Unwilling to accept the loss of leadership, Collins attacked the entire lap at the limit, thanks to which he even managed to get a little closer to his rival, however, in the final part of the lap, he still overdid it, entering the Pflanzgarten turn too quickly, and his car, sliding off the track, flew straight into the fence.
Seeing his friend's car fly into the air after the impact, Mike's heart froze in horror at first, however, driving away dark thoughts, he hoped to the last that Peter would get away with it, like two years ago. However, this time things were much worse.
Having completed a somersault, Collins' car fell upside down on the other side of the fence, while the Englishman himself was thrown out of the cockpit during the coup and flew head first straight into the thickets of nearby trees. When rescuers found Peter stretched out on the ground at the very edge of the forest, unconscious and with his helmet split as a result of a strong blow to a tree, they immediately realized that he had almost no chance of survival, and they were right: a few hours later, Peter’s soul forever left this Earth, which he loved so much and in whose memory his name will live forever...
