The crucial detail overlooked in a gallant Briton's famous Monza gesture

Many years ago, there was a Swedish motorsport journalist whose specialist subject was ‘The Graves of Dead Racing Drivers’. Rather than being a reverential journey of respect, this was a mission, an assemblage of headstones from far and wide. He would show cemetery photos with a sense of enthusiasm not dampened in the least by the apathy of his rather bewildered audience.

I therefore hesitate – but not for long – before revealing that I recently sought out the resting place of Peter Collins, one of Britain’s finest young drivers and the winner of his home grand prix in 1958 at the wheel of a Ferrari Dino 246 F1. It seemed appropriate because I happened to be in Worcestershire and Collins’s name had come up in the debate about which McLaren driver – if any – deserved to be given title precedence in 2024.

It was fitting that the subject should arise at Monza because this was the scene, 68 years before, of a selfless act that would be scorned in today’s aggressive and micro-managed racing world. The 1956 Italian Grand Prix was the eighth and final race of the season. Collins had an outside chance of winning the championship, the favourite being his Ferrari team-mate, Juan Manuel Fangio, who was eight points ahead (points were awarded 8, 6, 4, 3, 2 to the first five finishers, with a single point for fastest lap).

The race was run at a furious pace, the combination of banked track and fast straights playing havoc with tyres and machinery. Fangio, who had been running in the top three (with Collins not far behind) was forced to retire after 19 laps with a broken steering arm. Drivers were permitted to share their cars, any points accrued to be split evenly among the drivers.

At the end of the 35th lap, Collins pulled into the pits to have his left-front tyre changed. Seeing Fangio was out of the race, Collins had no hesitation in leaping from the cockpit and signalling the Argentine driver to take over. An eternally grateful Fangio rejoined and finished second. Not only did this seal his fourth world title, but it also triggered a story of sportsmanship on the part of Collins that has been embellished with the passage of rose-tinted time.

Although in contention for the championship, the assumption that Collins heroically gave up his title for Fangio does not stack up when the mathematics are analysed. Had Collins stayed in his car and finished second, Fangio would still have become world champion thanks to being two points ahead.

Collins was a leading light at Ferrari, though prepared to play second fiddle to Fangio during their brief spell as team-mates

Photo by: Motorsport Images

If Collins had won the race (highly unlikely, under the circumstances), it would have been a different story. But, either way, Collins gave up what amounted to no more than a slim chance of winning the title – which, truth be told, actually suited the laid-back Englishman. The last thing he wanted was the attendant pressures of being reigning world champion.

Collins’s view of life as a racing driver was coloured principally by two things. Just seven days after meeting Louise King, Collins had married the American actress who had played the part of Marilyn Monroe in the Broadway production of The Seven Year Itch. They made a glamorous couple, life on a boat in Monte Carlo adding to Collins’s determination to enjoy the moment during a period when racing drivers were killed with shocking regularity.

Peter’s roots as the son of a garage owner and haulier from Worcestershire ruled out him being seduced by the fame that attached itself to a talented young racer. A story told by Denis Jenkinson (‘Jenks’), the doyen of F1 reporters at the time, sums up Collins’s attitude to life.

Twelve months on, Collins would have no difficulty gaining admission to Silverstone, where he would totally dominate and score his third GP victory. It would also be his last

While motoring to the 1957 British GP at Aintree, Jenks came up behind an articulated lorry being driven at a brisk pace north of Kidderminster. When eventually waved through, Jenks was initially shocked to have the driver give him a V sign – only to look up and see the grinning face of Collins.

They pulled over for a chat (as F1 drivers do). Collins explained that his father had wanted this new truck delivered to Liverpool and it was agreed, since Peter was going to Aintree, he would take it to the new owner after the first day’s practice (as F1 drivers do).

Jenks went on to say that he next saw Collins at the Aintree main gate, trying to convince an official that he was an F1 driver and should be allowed in, complete with his lorry, to park in the special enclosure on the manicured lawn.
(Of course, he would have no such problem today as more than 350 articulated team trucks are welcomed inside Silverstone for the British GP – at the expense of humble paying customers with cars.)

Twelve months on, Collins would have no difficulty gaining admission to Silverstone, where he would totally dominate and score his third GP victory. It would also be his last.

Collins was a rising star thought of highly by Ferrari when he was killed at the Nurburgring in 1958

Photo by: Motorsport Images

At the Nurburgring Nordschleife two weeks later, while chasing the leading Vanwall of Tony Brooks, Collins made a slight misjudgement at the entrance to Pflanzgarten, a fast right-hander with a tricky approach. The combination of a ditch and a grass bank flicked the Ferrari upside-down. Collins died of head injuries later that night.

His loss was keenly felt, the leading lights of motorsport making their way to a small church in the hamlet of Stone, a short distance from the family garage at Mustow Green. The headstone on the modest grave says: “With a cheerful smile and a wave of the hand, he journeyed into the unknown land.”

Such an inscription was typical of a carefree time. And a more hazardous one when you are reminded that Peter John Collins was only 26. Debating who should or should not win a race would have been at the bottom of his agenda.

The loss of Collins aged 26 was a shock to the motor racing world

Photo by: LAT Photographic