Collins was born and grew up in Mustow Green, Kidderminster, Worcestershire, the son of a motor-garage owner. He was expelled from school at sixteen and became an apprentice at his father's garage, quickly finding his way to motorsport. Like many British drivers of the era, he began in the 500 cc category — the predecessor to Formula Three — driving a Cooper 500 before switching to the JBS-Norton. His path into professional racing opened at a party hosted by pre-war racer Kay Petre, where he introduced himself to both John Wyer of Aston Martin and the HWM Formula 2 team, leaving with contracts from both.
With HWM, Collins competed alongside Lance Macklin and Stirling Moss in F2 and F1. He replaced Moss for HWM's 1952 Formula One appearances, making his World Championship debut at the Swiss Grand Prix. His best result that year was sixth at the French Grand Prix at Rouen-Les-Essarts. Despite natural pace, the underfinanced HWM machinery rarely held together long enough to deliver results. Collins departed after 1953.
Collins won the 1953 RAC Tourist Trophy with Aston Martin at Dundrod, sharing with Pat Griffith. After a spell with BRM and Maserati, the pivotal moment came at the 1955 Targa Florio, where he partnered Stirling Moss to victory in a Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR. Ferrari's Enzo Ferrari took note. Collins joined Ferrari for 1956 and excelled immediately, winning the Belgian and French Grands Prix, scoring multiple podiums, and finishing third in the World Drivers' Championship. He earned the personal admiration of Enzo Ferrari, who treated him as part of the family.
At the 1956 Italian Grand Prix at Monza, Collins made one of motorsport's most celebrated gestures. With the championship within potential reach, he handed his Lancia-Ferrari D50 to team leader Juan Manuel Fangio after Fangio suffered a steering-arm failure. The act ultimately cost Collins the championship and handed Fangio critical points — but it earned him lasting respect. Fangio later said Collins "was one of the finest and greatest gentlemen I ever met in my racing career."
The 1957 season was largely winless for Collins in the championship, though he took non-championship victories at Syracuse and Naples. In 1958 Ferrari fielded the improved Dino 246, and Collins's form returned. He won the non-championship BRDC International Trophy at Silverstone and finished third at Monaco. At the British Grand Prix at Silverstone, under team orders to support his close friend Mike Hawthorn's title bid, Collins drove what witnesses described as one of the most aggressive and committed drives of his career, leading from the front and pulling away from Moss's faster Vanwall before Moss retired. It was his third and final Formula One victory.
Three weeks later, at the German Grand Prix at the Nürburgring, Collins went too quickly into the Pflanzgarten section while chasing Tony Brooks's Vanwall. His Ferrari ran wide, struck a ditch, flipped, and Collins was thrown from the car and struck a tree. He died that afternoon in a hospital in Bonn from critical head injuries. His Ferrari teammate Mike Hawthorn, devastated by the loss, retired from racing at the end of the same season after winning the Drivers' Championship.
Alongside his Formula One career, Collins was a reliable performer for Aston Martin in sports cars through the first half of the 1950s. He finished second at the 24 Hours of Le Mans twice — in 1955 with Paul Frère and in 1956 with Stirling Moss — both times in Aston Martin machinery. He won the 12 Hours of Sebring in 1958 with Ferrari, co-driving with Phil Hill in a Ferrari 250 TR.
Collins was among the most naturally gifted British drivers of the 1950s, combining genuine speed with a warmth and generosity unusual in the intensely competitive world of the time. His willingness to sacrifice his own championship chances for Fangio in 1956, and his all-out support drive for Hawthorn at Silverstone in 1958, speak to a character that remained exceptional even by the standards of an era when team loyalty was expected. He was portrayed by Jack O'Connell in the 2023 sports drama film Ferrari.