We ( my parents and I) went to dinner one Sunday night at the excellent Bull at Barton Mills, Suffolk, not far from Snetterton. Peter Collins was there with his family and we were put at the table right next to the Collins crew. They must have just finished with a meeting at Snetterton. This would have been in about 1955 or 1956 when I was 20/21 years old. Imagine my feelings, with one of my heroes sitting almost next to me!! A forever memory. RIP, mon ami mate.

Legends. Every single one of them. May you Rest In Peace Peter Collins. May all of you Rest In Peace.

It truly was a different, frightening world these drivers raced during. A small mistake and you're dead. Today, it probably wouldn't even make the highlight reel; it would be considered such a minor excursion from which the driver would easily walk away. This is an era of F1 I don't know much about, but these guys were true legends and brave as hell.

My dad was doing his military service in Germany in 1958 and was at this race , he talked about it many times when I was growing up .

@lemonparty6595

Жыл бұрын

THANKS FOR YOUR DADS SERVICE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hawthorn and Collins were good friends and you can see in the clip he is distressed by what he had witnessed. Collins was a top class driver and sacrificed his own chance of winning the F1 title one year when he gave his car over to Fangio mid race meaning he handed the title to Fangio when he could have won the title himself! It never seems to get a mention. Proper "gentlemen" of a bygone and extremely dangerous time in motor racing.

@andyelliott8027

4 ай бұрын

Five months later Mike was killed.

@jritechnology

Ай бұрын

@@andyelliott8027 After he retired, he just couldn't resist racing....Rob Walker.

Hawthorn and Collins were close friends referring to each other as "Mon Ami Mate" after Collins death Mike was never the same and according to his book Champion Year was a major factor behind his decision to retire from GP racing-RIP Mike and Peter

As a 5 year old I saw a fortnight earlier Collins win the British Grand Prix at Silverstone. I have vague recollections of the day. My father , a veterinary rep at the time , knew the owner of the infield farm at Silverstone and we lived not too far away.

Thanks for posting this. I am quite well versed in the story of Hawthorn and Collins but had never seen those pictures or heard that interview. You can clearly see how upset Hawthorn is. I would expect the interview was conducted at Heathrow just after Hawthorn returned from the Nurburgring.

@jjmoto65

2 жыл бұрын

Yes they were very close and Collins crash influenced Hawthorne's decision to announce his retirement. There is a fabulous documentary I believe it is a Ferrari documentary that highlights the friendship between Hawthorne and Collins. Both great racers and gentlemen of the highest order. RIP

RIP Peter, great, unforgettable driver!

Sadly Mike lost his own life soon after in a road accident. This is actually the first time I hear his voice.

@abritandhisbikeinpoland6802

2 жыл бұрын

Well here is 5 minutes of him talking. kzread.info/dash/bejne/p6KXmtNth8jAhtY.html

@MrPither999

2 жыл бұрын

@@abritandhisbikeinpoland6802 That link is to this same video. I think you mean this kzread.info/dash/bejne/e6SGqMOgecXJgKg.html&ab

@lemonparty6595

Жыл бұрын

should've listened more then bozo L

Hawthorn never got over it. Peter is buried not too far from me - never forgotten

@stephenscholes4758

2 жыл бұрын

Didn't stop him being a hoon on the road

@yardelli

2 жыл бұрын

@@stephenscholes4758 Thats the point........... I don't think he cared anymore after losing Collins...........

@STANLIZ4

2 жыл бұрын

@@yardelli I think your right, although his accident was somewhat freakish hitting the only tree. I believe Archie Scott Brown had the same attitude of mind too

Peter was a family friend. A sad loss to all who knew him and who supported and admired him.

@andrewholt9332

2 жыл бұрын

Hi Bob I have been researching Peter in depth for some time now and have revealed some things, For approx 2 years I have been talking frequently with Peters Actress wife Louise Collins, Sadly she passed away 18th of August just gone =18th August 2021 Would be nice to talk with you Regards Andrew

@bobterry9062

2 жыл бұрын

@@andrewholt9332 Dear Andrew I'm in the east of Thailand at the moment, and the signal in this area is very poor. I will be back in Bangkok in about 10 days. Regards, Bob.

The little dip in Pflantzgarten I, just before Sprunghügel caugt me off guard too first time driving the circuit IRL. It's really a dip often with all wheels leaving ground making it deemed necessary in most cars to do a tad brake before the dip. I can truly imagine that section being a handful to handle with drum brakes, enourmous power and thin tyres.

At the time, I was 13 yrs old. I was probablybthe only one among my ftiends who followed Formula One. Collins, Moss, Hawthorn ,and Fangio were drivers I followed in magazines and brit newspapers I got from a magazine and 8nternational.newspaper shop downtown. Collins' accudent and death was a shock, I always thought he was in the top 3 drivers, afyer Fangio and Moss. Motor racing in the 50s and 60s was like Russian Roulette, you knew eventually drivers were going to die. 15 drivers were killed between 1954 and 1968 in F1 alone. Sportscar and GT/"saloon" cars lost many more.

Thanks for the post. A great driver gone to soon…….😢

@royfearn4345

2 жыл бұрын

A lot of them go too soon, and not all from motor racing!

Although Ferrari won the Drivers' F.1 Championship in 1958, with Mike Hawthorn, that season was a really tragic one, due to the loss of two great champions like Musso and Collins. They died in very similar crashes, trying hard to catch the race leader when they were running 2nd. Very sad...

Hawthorn died less then a yr later aswell... R.I.P men!! 🏁

I have become more and more interested in the 50s racing as my age increases..,. I'm 60.....I don't know why but the guts and danger these guys indulged in at a time of massive cammerardary and genuine friendship coz your first crash could be your last. Peter was peaking in 58. Had he lived I feel he would have beaten his great friend Hawthorn to the title

And both Peter and Mike went away. God bless them.

Saw Peter race at Albert Park in 1956 one of a contingent of overseas drivers including Sterling Behra Wharton et al. All gone RIP

You always hear people trying to compare eras and how much more dangerous it was back then. Indeed it was but you also have to remember the backdrop to F1 in those days.. WW2 wasn’t a distant memory back then (neither is it today) and I suppose that generation’s perceptions of risk and danger were very different. Rightly so, safety has improved enormously but the risks are still there as Grosjean will testify to. Personally I respect them all no matter the era. Motorbike road racing is probably the only form of motor racing on a par with 50s F1 from a mortality and risk pov.

Mon ami mate… RIP

Mike Hawthorn from Yorkshire was the first ever British F1 world champion 🏁🙏 Mike Hawthorn and Peter Collins were very close friends, After winning the world championship Mike immediately announced his retirement 🏁

I would like to see how Hamilton and co would fare in these cars and circuits no computers running the car and no run off area.

@TheGrinch_

2 жыл бұрын

He will do fine

There was no safety precautions back in those days, just didn't know any better back than. learning as they went along.

@jamesgentry13

2 жыл бұрын

Thsts basically what science is.

@BrianMorrison

2 жыл бұрын

They knew the risks and made decisions based on society's view of them at the time. Seat belts were not used to give a better chance of being thrown clear and/or avoiding a post-crash fire. Remember that memories of war were fresh then and being shot at was clearly more dangerous than motor racing. Many other aspects of life were significantly more risky than in our modern world. RIsk is relative, once other risks are reduced then the lesser ones can be addressed.

It is probably also worth noting that the 1958 version of the Ferrari 246 F1 handled poorly, one culprit is the Englebert tires Ferrari still used at the time. It is known that the car performs badly on tracks where handling is important, like Zandvoort, and Nurburgring.

Rest easy Peter. You and Mike are driving the galaxies now.

And Mike Hawthorn himself had less than 8 months left to live after the accident, but due to a road-accident.

His Wife of 18 months died recently.

rip the homie 🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏 stay safe out there y'all

Brave old boys back then RIP

Howthorn is visible touched.

Peter Collins was an excellent driver and enjoyed his short life to the full, even marrying a glamorous movie actress. The relationship with Mike Hawthorn was close and I’m sure would have lasted many years. Two bright lights snuffed out so soon.

@andyelliott8027

2 жыл бұрын

His widow, American actress Louise King died 19th August 2021 aged 88.

Hawthorn certainly was surrounded by a lot of tragedy in his life.

@houseofwine7704

2 жыл бұрын

He was a tragedy as a man himself.

The car must have cleared the fence, as that looks intact?.

I nice sturdy roll bar and seat belts could have made a complete difference.

@stinkyroadhog1347

Жыл бұрын

Seatbelts in those cars would've actually endangered them further with how fragile and prone to fire they were. Even in the 70s when the cars were strengthened to the point where seatbelts were the safer option, fire was still the major fear

@rickden8362

Жыл бұрын

@@stinkyroadhog1347 Doubtful. Crashing one of those cars and getting impaled in the steering wheel or squashed in a roll over were still the more high mortality probability accidents.

Can you imagine a racing circuit today with post and wire fencing close to the outside of a corner like that? Several cases of driver decapitation on wire fences in the 50s and 60s.

RIP

Peter Colling e Mike Hawthorn companheiros (amicíssimos fora das pistas) da Ferrari na temporada de 1958! Morreram em um intervalo de menos de seis meses... Mas antes, Mike Hawthorn sagrou-se Campeão da temporada de 1958!!

@LathropLdST

Жыл бұрын

Conheci os ingleses da Ferrari pela arrogância deles somente. Toda vez que leio/veio algo deles, da só pra confirmar meus sentimentos.

Proper racing drivers ….not like the technocrats of today. RIP

Hawthorn seems broken & disillusioned. But knowing what happened to him after this and Le Mans, it is easy to put 2 & 2 together to make 5.

@andyelliott8027

2 жыл бұрын

Hawthorn died in a road crash in his Jaguar when he was racing F1 team owner Rob Walker in a Mercedes. Mike had serious kidney disease, he had lost one kidney and the other was failing, he did not have long left to live even if the crash had never happened.

Nord schleiffe was too dangerous every turn

These list drivers paid with their lives to helped evolve race safety standards to what we see today

✨🙏🏻💫

i think hawthorn had something to do with it 👀👀👀👀👀

he died himself on public rds

Mon Ami Mate

@paulreilly3904

2 жыл бұрын

I've recently read Michael Cannell's book about Phil Hill and Wolfgang von Tripps called " The Limit", which is exactly this era. It's very well written, and your use of that phrase brought back fond memories.

Looking at the photo at 0:41 this is may be Planzgarten 2 which is proceeded by a "pif-paf" and a "yump". Even toned down these days, this is exciting, but the state of the track in 1958 is comparable to a modern rally stage.

These were REAL drivers ,now theyr just glorified technicians

De mortis nil nisi bonum. However, their recklessness, hunger to win and arrogance caused at least two deaths. I hace nothing good to say about Collins, aside from acknowledging he was wicked talented, as was Hawthorne. Nonetheless, sometimes talent can be abused and make the reckless overlook what the prudent would not.