Peter Gethin

Peter Kenneth Gethin (21 February 1940 - 5 December 2011): British racing driver from Ewell, Surrey, who competed in Formula 1 from 1970 to 1974, achieving one of the sport's most remarkable victories. He dominated Formula 5000, winning the championship in 1969 and 1970 before making his F1 debut with McLaren at the 1970 Dutch Grand Prix, replacing team founder Bruce McLaren who had been killed at Goodwood. Gethin moved to BRM from the 1971 Austrian Grand Prix onwards and won the 1971 Italian Grand Prix at Monza in one of F1's most dramatic finishes, crossing the line just 0.01 seconds ahead of Ronnie Peterson in the closest finish in F1 history.

He won with an average speed of 242.615 km/h, a record that stood for 32 years, and remarkably never led a complete lap in his entire F1 career, passing from fourth to first on the final lap. Gethin competed for McLaren and BRM, scoring points on multiple occasions. He later became a motorsport executive and commentator before passing away at age 71 in December 2011 after a long illness.