Collins was on the verge of becoming Britain’s first F1 World Champion when he handed his Lancia-Ferrari D50 over to team leader Juan Manuel Fangio after the latter suffered a steering-arm failure toward the end of the Italian Grand Prix at Monza. Collins eventually finished second, but the advantage handed to Moss, and the extra points gained by Fangio’s finish, demoted Collins to third place in the championship.[
Does anyone know the full story here? How did he finish second without a car, and why would he give up his car to Fangio if he was truly on the verge of winning the championship?
It seems like car 26 was classified in second, which was the car first piloted by Collins and then Fangio. They shared the 6 points for second place (3 points for each driver), which meant Collins couldnt overtake Fangio in the championship. Moss received 9 points for the race win + fastest lap.
Why did he give up his car? It was considered “gentleman behaviour” but no idea why exactly.
