Peter John Collins (6 November 1931 – 3 August 1958) was a British racing driver, who competed in Formula One from 1952 to 1958. Collins won three Formula One Grands Prix across seven seasons. In endurance racing, Collins won the 12 Hours of Sebring in 1958 with Ferrari.

Born and raised in Kidderminster, Collins started his racing career aged 17 in a 500cc Cooper 500. The 500cc category became Formula Three in 1950, where he finished third in the 1951 Autosport National Formula 3 Championship. He then progressed to Formula Two with HWM in 1952, who promoted him to Formula One that season to replace Stirling Moss, making his debut at the Swiss Grand Prix. Collins made intermittent appearances over the next four seasons for HWM, Vanwall and Maserati; despite scoring no World Championship points, he took major wins at the 1953 RAC Tourist Trophy with Aston Martin and the non-championship 1955 BRDC International Trophy. Following his victory at the 1955 Targa Florio with Mercedes, Collins was signed by Ferrari in 1956. He was immediately successful at Ferrari, taking his maiden wins at the Belgian and French Grands Prix amongst several podiums, and finishing third in the World Drivers' Championship. After a winless 1957 season, Collins died during the 1958 German Grand Prix at the Nürburgring, just weeks after winning the British Grand Prix. He had achieved three wins and nine podiums—with four non-championship race wins—in Formula One.

Outside of Formula One, Collins was twice runner-up in the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1955 and 1956 with Aston Martin, as well as in the 1956 Mille Miglia with Ferrari. In popular culture, Collins was portrayed by Jack O'Connell in the sports drama film Ferrari (2023).

Born on 6 November 1931, Collins grew up in Mustow Green, Kidderminster, Worcestershire, England. The son of a motor-garage owner and haulage merchant, Collins became interested in motor vehicles at a young age. He was expelled from school at 16 owing to spending time at a local fairground during school hours. He became an apprentice in his father's garage and began competing in local trials races.^{[citation needed]}

In common with many British drivers of the time, Collins began racing in the 500 cc category (adopted as Formula 3 at the end of 1950), when his parents bought him a Cooper 500 from the fledgling Cooper Car Company. Success for Collins started once he switched to the JBS-Norton in 1951. Those small vehicles, powered by Norton motorcycle engines, were also the proving ground of many of Collins's F1 contemporaries, including Stirling Moss.

Collins' breakthrough came, away from the track, when at a party hosted by the great pre-war lady racer, Kay Petre, he managed to inveigle himself with John Wyer, the team principal at Aston Martin, earning his test drive at Silverstone. During that test, Aston was joined by the Formula 2 team, HWM – and by the time the teams were preparing to leave, Collins had a contract with both.^{[self-published source]}

At HWM Collins he became part of a three-car team with Lance Macklin and Moss, and they competed in most of the F2 races in Britain and in Europe. Collins showed in speed, but the underfinanced HWM-Alta rarely finished a race. His best result was second place in the Grand Prix des Sables d'Olonne. Collins got his Formula One break in 1952, with HWM when he replaced Moss. His best result in a World Championship event that year was sixth in the French Grand Prix at Rouen-Les-Essarts.

Success did not come the team's way, and Collins left after the 1953 season. Not known for his technical knowledge, Collins was happy to have his mechanics set up his car, and he simply drove it with his consummate natural skill. This was evident in 1954, when Tony Vandervell signed Collins to drive the fearsome "Thinwall Special". The potent machine was a crowd pleaser at Formula Libre events. He was also amongst the first to handle the "Vanwall Special" on the world stage, but he only finished seventh in the Italian Grand Prix at Monza.