The 1956 Italian Grand Prix

For the 1956 Formula 1 season, Scuderia Ferrari was fielding the Lancia-Ferrari D50’s that that they inherited from Lancia when they folded their racing efforts.

They had a strong driver line-up of Juan Manual Fangio, Peter Collins, Luigi Musso and Eugenio Castellotti.

Pen& ink, paint markers and markers on red archival stock 12"x 11'5" (30.5cm x 29cm) © Paul Chenard 2012
Private collection – limited editions are available.

Before the Italian Grand Prix, the last race of the season, Fangio had 2.5 wins, Sir Stirling Moss had 1 win, Collins had 2 wins, Pat Flaherty had 1 win, and Musso shared a win with Fangio.

Points-wise, it was a very close match-up between Fangio, Collins and Moss, with all 3 having a good chance at winning the World Championship into that last race at Monza.

During the race, the Monza track, with it’s steep banked section, took it’s toll on the Ferraris, with the D50s of Castellotti, Fangio and Musso dropping out.

Pen& ink and colour pencils on gray archival stock © Paul Chenard 2010
Detail from "Peter Collins – Targa Florio 1955" limited edition.

When the remaining D50 of Collins came in for a pitstop, he spotted Fangio there, and immediately hopped out of his car to hand it over to Juan Manual so he could get back into the race. Fangio came in second place behind Moss, giving him enough points to take the Championship.

When he was asked why he so unselfishly gave up his car, thus his Championship chances, Collins said that he thought that Fangio deserved it more.

Spoken like a true gentleman!

Creative moments ...

We are into the New Year, which can be a time for spiritual renovations. In our house, it’s time for basement renovations.

We are repainting our basement, along with replacing old furniture and old carpets.

I’ve spent over a week painting, so I’ve not had time to do any of my racing history art. To keep my creativity flowing, I decided to do a quick painting with the 2-inch brush I was using on a wall we were repainting before the roller-paint was put down.

It shows Peter Collins driving a Ferrari-Lancia D50 in 1956.

The painting is gone now, but it was worth the creative moment!

Peter Collins – A very respected racer

Englishman Peter Collins was a very well liked and respected Grand Prix and sports car driver.

Pen&ink and Prismacolor pencil on steel gray archival stock 

© Paul Chenard 2010

Born in 1931, he started racing Formula 3 Coopers in 1950, and quickly moved up to Formula 1 in 1952, driving for HWM. He also drove for BRM, Maserati and Vanwall.

Targa Florio - Mercedes 300 SLR

Pen&ink and Prismacolor pencil on steel gray archival stock
© Paul Chenard 2010

In 1955, He joined Sir Stirling Moss to win the prestigious, but grueling 277 mile (445 km) Sicilian Targa Florio open-road race, driving for Mercedes in a 300 SLR.

Scuderia Ferrari hired him in the 1956 season driving in F1 and his first win with the team came at the 1956 Belgium Grand Prix. Collins found more success during the season, and was well on his way to possibly becoming the first British F1 Champion.

At the 1956 Italian Grand Prix, the last race in the season, his teammate Juan Manuel Fangio’s Lancia-Ferrari broke down, so Collins selflessly handed over his car to Fangio, who also had a chance at the Championship. This enabled Fangio to finish the race in second place, giving him enough points at the end of the season to win his 4^th F1 World Drivers Championship.

This great act of generosity gained Collins immense respect in the eyes of fans, the motoring press, and Enzo Ferrari himself.

Mille Miglia - Ferrari 335S, pencil on light gray archival stock, © Paul Chenard 2009

In 1957, Mike Hawthorn joined him on the team, and they became fast friends. Collins married American actress and racer Louise King, proposing to her on their second meeting.

Mike Hawthorn, pen&ink and Prismacolor pencils on white archival stock © Paul Chenard 2009

Tragically, this well-liked driver was killed while racing a Ferrari 246 F1 at the 1958 German Grand on the Nürburgring. Hawthorn was so badly affected by the death of Collins, that he announced his retirement after taking the 1958 F1 World Drivers’ Championship.

The 1957 Mille Miglia

1957 spelled the official end of the famous Italian Mille Miglia road race, which started in 1927. As the name suggest, the route snaked its way through a thousand miles of Italy on public roads, starting and ending in Brescia.




















That last race was won by Piero Taruffi in a works Ferrari 315 S, but was marred by the crash and death of Count Alfonso De Portago, his navigator Edmund Nelson, and thirteen spectators; Portago was in one of the Scuderia Ferrari team racers. There had been grumblings as a result of deaths in previous races, but this was the last straw, and the Mille Miglia was banded.

Taruffi’s other teammate was Peter Collins, driving a Scuderia Ferrari 335 S, navigated by photographer Louis Klemantaski; they unfortunately broke down, and never finished the race.

Peter Collins' Ferrari 335 S at tech inspection before the race

Working drawing, pencil on light gray archival paper, 12”x 9” © Paul Chenard 2009

I did this sketch while sitting in the car at a soccer tournament, which my son was coaching (not cool for dad to be around the pitch).