Peter Collins (racing driver)

Peter Collins (6 November 1931 to 3 August 1958) was a British racing driver from Kidderminster, Worcestershire, who competed in Formula One from 1952 to 1958. He began racing at 17 in a 500cc Cooper, finished third in the 1951 Autosport National Formula 3 Championship, and moved up to Formula Two with HWM in 1952, when the team promoted him to Formula One and he made his debut at the Swiss Grand Prix. After intermittent seasons with HWM, Vanwall and Maserati, and major wins at the 1953 RAC Tourist Trophy with Aston Martin and the 1955 Targa Florio with Mercedes, he signed for Ferrari in 1956. There he took his first Grand Prix wins at the Belgian and French races and finished third in the World Drivers' Championship. He won three Grands Prix in all, the last the 1958 British Grand Prix, and won the 1958 12 Hours of Sebring with Ferrari. He was twice runner-up in the 24 Hours of Le Mans, in 1955 and 1956 with Aston Martin, and he died during the 1958 German Grand Prix at the Nurburgring.