1971: ANNIE NIGHTINGALE at SILVERSTONE Grand Prix | Before The Event | Classic Sport | BBC Archive

[@richardwilton722]

Peter Gethin was an outrageous flirt! :)

[@shaundadson8302]

Be rude not to really!. Back then it was one of the benefits of being a racing driver - look at James Hunt and Barry Sheene - know they both died young, but they sure enjoyed themselves in their short lives. Given the downside of the risk of being killed racing at that time I suppose you can't blame them.

[@Daniel-S1]

45 yrs and 52 yrs.

[@sg-hd9fz]

Outrageous lech

[@sonorastar2239]

Even blue-haired feminists start ovulating when REAL men flirt with them.

[@tachikomakusanagi3744]

I did wonder what Annie was doing in his flat the morning of the race!

[@malquezare]

Nice to see Emerson Fittipaldi, G.Hill, Stewart and others pilots

[@jeffreynolds3848]

Wasn’t Emerson amazing in this piece...?! This makes me want to watch the film Grand Prix all over again....! RIP Annie - you were forever a class act...!

[@john2ndname]

@@jeffreynolds3848 Emerson almost got away with the Elvis look...

[@plunder1956]

I saw a lot of familiar faces. Like Jackie Stewart with long hair and Grayham Hill with that fantastic smile and the trademark chin. these were major names in my teenage years.

[@plantfeeder6677]

Was hoping to get a glimpse of Jo Siffert. He would die later that season at Brands Hatch. I saw him finish his last race at Laguna Seca Can-Am driving the Porsche 917-10. One week later😢

[@aureliobrighton1871]

@@plantfeeder6677 Jo Siffert, elegant and charming. Quiet master of race driving and top business man. To me a true legend without any myths. ☮️:)

[@raoulheinrichvonmerten4851]

That so takes me back, the whole vibe of that interview with Peter just captured GP racing in the 70’s.

[@SilverfoxJB]

RIP Annie Nightingale a beautiful and talented woman and one of the best Radio Dj's of the last 40 odd years

[@scottishwildcat]

That would be Peter Gethin's penultimate race for McLaren. He switched to BRM mid-season, and won his second (and only) F1 race with them at Monza.

[@samlancaster1277]

Well done. I followed Peter all through his career.

[@shaundadson8302]

Wasn't it the fastest ever average speed F1 race for many years?, with the first few cars covered by fractions of a second, (think the record was later broken by Michael Schumacher). That BRM engine was a beast - still one of the best sounding engines even today.

[@samlancaster1277]

Well done Sean. Yes it was. I recorded the winning BRM P180 at the Oulton Park, Gold Cup in 2002. The sound on the approach to Old Hall and the downshift into Cascades are absolutely awesome . I well remember the days when with eyes closed, I could instantly differentiate between Ferrari, Matra, BRM and Alfa Romeo V12’s. Such very happy memories indeed.

[@shaundadson8302]

@@samlancaster1277 Definitely one of the best sounding V12's that's for sure. All modern F1's sound tame by comparison - that was a great era of beautiful sounding engines with the DFV too.

[@iannicholls7476]

Ah, I was wondering about that. I thought it was in ‘71 that he won with BRM at Monza so I was surprised to see him in a McLaren. I hadn’t realised that he switched mid-season.

[@doxies]

Annie Nightingale was gorgeous! Grew up listening to her on Radio 1. Wonderfull seeing hoe much simpler the world was - not too long ago but a lifetime away

[@GaryJohnWalker1]

Annie also did a summary doc on the Transatlantic(?) challenge - UK vs US bike racers at a couple of circuits around Britain in the early 70s. Poss with Sheene. And on the US side a good few who later became GP stars when they ventured to Europe properly (prob not Roberts). Anyway, she was a terrific BBC presenter, not just the Sunday night R1 jock she became in the 80s.

[@mk1cortinatony395]

Brilliant ! I never knew Annie did stuff like this

[@boatman222345]

I was in the tech building at the Formula One race at Watkins Glen in the late 1960s watching the Ferrari mechanics change out a failed engine. I can remember thinking what a complex piece piece of technology that car represented. Watching this today I realized that those cars were simplicity plus in comparison to Formula One cars of today where the brake system alone costs more than an entire Formula One cost back then.

[@plantfeeder6677]

Thank your politicians and central banking for that inflationary increase.

[@PurityVendetta]

Yes but it was such fun. I worked for a small team in the uk running Formula Vauxhall Lotus A and B class cars, current and historic FF cans and various other open wheel and sports cars. I really enjoyed it.

[@PurityVendetta]

​@@plantfeeder6677You're not a technical type are you...

[@boatman222345]

@@plantfeeder6677 I'm afraid that it's not inflation alone that led to the vast increase in the cost of Formula One racing. The technology in Formula One has advanced to the stage where materials and design costs have soared through the roof. It's not an exaggeration to say that compared to Formula One engineering rocket science is child's play.

[@_Ben4810]

9:19 French motorsport journalist Gerard ''Jabby'' Crombac on the left, March Racing (& ex-Team Lotus & Jim Clark's...) mechanic Dave ''Beaky'' Sims on the right....

[@LeoWuerde]

Jabby share his appartement in Paris with Jim Clark in 1967...and took over Jimmys Lotus Elan....Dave "Beaky" Sims were at cold and rainy Hockenheim track, 7th April 1968, the last man who spoke with the by far Greatest Driver Ever, or in the words of Senna and Fangio "The Best of the Best".

[@Lazy_Sundae]

"Ooh, it's a nice tight fit." "And what's this little knob here?" 🤗

[@HuSiaCat]

Annie was a voice of my youth, loved the radio and those were golden years.

[@syedalamgir5838]

Thanks BBC archive

[@conner916]

My dad told me Peter Gethin was chatting my mum up at Brands Hatch in the bar back in the early 70’s 🤣🤣

[@Al-os2cg]

The good old days😃 of drawing board and tape.

[@John-k6f9k]

They didn't have KZbin though.

[@OlafProt]

Good grief Annie was forever awesome.

[@shaundadson8302]

What a great piece of film - she was lovely and a great presenter - only knew her for the music stuff, but this was good. Nice to see the hands on engineering, with the Cosworth DFV in pieces - didn't realise they pulled them apart themselves - thought they went back to Cosworth for rebuild at that time. Great interview with Peter Gethin too - a driver like many others from F1 history of that time, (another is Tom Pryce), doesn't get mentioned enough.

[@sonicstep]

"What a great piece of film. " Yes, it's refreshing to see it doesn't look pre Charlie Chaplin; grainy and bleached out.

[@OneSwitch]

What a lovely voice Annie Nightingale had. Great video. Exciting scary era for racing.

[@howardsportugal]

Amazing to watch...mum had a miscarriage watching this race, 1971 Silverstone. Bless my sibling. I came along 18 months later.

[@Kosmonooit]

0:42 Never leave the key in the chuck! RIP Annie used to love her early morning show on R1. She was quite posh back in the day yeah

[@aineo2888]

Well spotted, yes, that would result in a bollocking if caught, but we all did it once at least.

[@davidg3944]

@@aineo2888 I never threw a key, but did once leave a chunk of square stock in the socket when the key itself had gone missing (drove it with an adjustable spanner), and that did go across the shop. Luckily no harm, and in fairness I was still in my first year or two of technical High School, but it was an embarrassing lesson in what not to do.

[@1man1guitarletsgo]

I was surprised to see so much swarf on the lathe.

[@PurityVendetta]

Wow, so many experts 🤣

[@richardbullwood5941]

Annie Nightingale has to be the most English name I've ever heard

[@shaunmckenna1923]

I remember days like this when F1 was so much more fun seeing all the drivers walking around , also you if you were in the paddock you were able to see the cars up close .

[@brianmorecombe2726]

Annie Nightingale a car racing presenter.Amazing,1971 and the BBC got a music Old Grey Whistle Test presenter to do this.Never in a million years did i think Annie Nightingale was interested in car racing

[@miloudiben]

So many innuendos 🤣🤣

[@Ogma3bandcamp]

04:42 Whispering Bob Harris on welding duties. R.I.P. Annie, you legend.

[@GBURGE55]

Had to play that back. Perhaps that was his day job!😊

[@teabagmcpick889]

Goode spot - he's a dead ringer 😂

[@sidecarbod1441]

The welding fumes are what gave him his distinctive voice!

[@Ogma3bandcamp]

@@sidecarbod1441 😂

[@juergenschneider6472]

Its a jewel for everyone who is interested in the history of Formula one. Just great!! Hope to see Jackie at Goodwood this year.

[@GeoffBob77]

"It's a nice tight fit isn't it" said Peter. "What's this strange knob" replied Annie. Hilarious.

[@julianlockwood3040]

Pure GOLD

[@Grunchy005]

6:53 That's Irwin Shaw "Rich Man, Poor Man" (1969), Harold Robbins "The Inheritors" (1969), and Ross MacDonald "The Underground Man" (1971)

[@TheNovum]

McLaren 😍

[@MGDriver99]

The paddock scenes are amazing!

[@georgethomas7814]

An amazing gem from Silverstone 1971..... Good to see Mclaren and their car from that year.

[@alexandrefernandes8027]

Thanks for this amazing video.

[@ridhobaihaqi144]

1971... my dad still 2 years old 😅😅

[@southwestkinema9149]

Thanks for that. 52 in Feb 😢 Time flies people try and enjoy your life

[@plunder1956]

It's curious seeing Annie sliding down into the seat of the F1 car with almost a look of fear. Back in 1998 we had two Jordan F1 cars on stage for a show and a few people tred to get into them. They are snug and almost claustrophobic for a thin person and some of the people at this show were NOT slim. We had to stop them before Sombody got stuck. Plus many of the carbon wing sections are actually sharp. The car sits very low to the ground, even without an engine in it. Just lifting the cars onto a 2m stage level was difficult. We rolled them onto a sheet of Plywood and then used a fork lift to pick them up. Seeing an F1 car close up gave me a lot more respect for the drivers of these machines and the designers that build them.

[@DM-it2ch]

Peter Gethin doing his best to out- smooth Terry-Thomas!!!!

[@jeshkam]

He was Gethin there. 😏

[@trainscranesandtrivialtale7262]

Peter and Annie are both the same age here - 31. You wouldn't think it!

[@Ruda-n4h]

Annie looks about 30ish, Peter older.

[@LuckyFruitRacing]

Peter looks easily 45+, crazy how times have changed

[@phillipecook3227]

Really? She looks younger, mid 20s.

[@Ruda-n4h]

@@phillipecook3227 For the time I would put her at about 28 if I didn't know better. People born during the war just looked older and more mature.

[@ajs41]

@@Ruda-n4h She looks 30 by today's standards, 25 by the standards of the day, but was actually 31.

[@jeshkam]

Peter's surely Gethin there.

[@ysgol3]

Oh wow, this is fantastic, thank you, I love the quick glimpse of Graham pretending to ne a duck - typical! Peter was a complete gentleman and very very well liked - just a few weeks later he sensationally won the 1971 Italian GP, in the last GP at Monza without chicanes, in a four car chase to the line. His average speed there was the fastest in GP history, a record which lasted, amazingly, until 2003!!

[@oldjake4233]

R.I.P. Anne Nightingale

[@rfratelli]

Is it just me or was Peter hinting on Annie?

[@billb7876]

More than hinting lol, all very suggestive eh?

[@NicotineRosberg]

Can u blame him?

[@phillipecook3227]

No wonder. She was " fit."

[@drew699]

Defo some flirting there.

[@neilwarburton3683]

With his little knob 🤩

[@ВасиаткаБезпутная]

Боже, столько легендарных людей на этом видео! Да и такое качество! Я бы с удовольствием посмотрел трансляцию этапов Ф1 1971(или более поздних) года в таком качестве! Жаль, что это невозможно...

[@TheBoycie86]

The lack of safety is eye opening!!! The fact there was a 1 in 3 chance a driver wouldn't make it to the end of the season!

[@christopherharmon2433]

It wasn't until the mid seventies (1976IIRC) that F1 went an entire season without an in race fatality.

[@jdb47games]

Nonsense. Of the 26 drivers taking part in the first race of the 1971 season, all but two would survive the year, and their deaths were not in F1 World Championship races.

[@TheBoycie86]

@@jdb47games I didn't specifically state the 1971 season, but more that era, 60s and 70s when safety wasn't important as performance. Motorsport in general

[@PeacefulRallyCar-pw3cs]

Back when F1 was dangerous and flying was safe.

[@phillipecook3227]

​@@christopherharmon2433Jesus. That's incredible.

[@johnsweet8508]

"Strange little knob..."😅

[@juanmontoya6622]

RIP Annie.

[@fjp3305]

That was real racing!

[@rockets4kids]

I miss shows made like this.

[@ianmangham4570]

Peters wonderful combover is now in a museum 😮

[@SimonWallwork]

My Goodness- she was lovely!

[@the_lost_navigator]

RIP, Respect

[@MrAussieCrasher]

I think Annie staid the night with Peter lucky boy , a perk of being a GP driver

[@phils2180]

Some great footage from a golden era of F1. Certainly more dangerous with, sadly, many more fatalities than would be tolerated today but there was just something special about the racing and the drivers back then, not like the oversized slot racing we have today.

[@malcpaul996]

She was gorgeous. x

[@SubTroppo]

8:52 Boeing management take note!

[@alistairbartlett6569]

Graham Hill and a Ferrari mechanic doing the funky chicken!!😅

[@stenovitz]

06:00 When F1 drivers literally looked like authentic movie stars!

[@hisham_hm]

"It produces an amazing 450 horsepower" The 2026 F1 cars will produce 470 hp from their electrical part alone -- the progress is amazing!

[@stephenhowell5611]

Great clip, RIP.

[@Tim.Weaver]

5:18 Nudge nudge, wink wink 😄

[@graemewilliams6697]

Excellent film.

[@TheLastOilMan]

Another DS presenter, but I fell for her once. RIP Annie !

[@prelovedguitarsni1436]

Very interesting video. £7.5k for a DFV!!! That would be about 10% of a rebuild today.

[@chumleyk]

And almost double the price of a house back then.

[@Pianoguy32]

F1 needs some more Phil Kerr

[@Tracertme]

She clearly knew very little about Motorsport, but did a good job of presenting… like some of the young F1 presenters we have to put up with on Sky today… I wish they would just let the drivers present as they know what they are talking about..

[@kawalsehmi]

Back when F1 drivers didn’t look like 1st year A Level students.

[@mecano572]

😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂

[@phillipecook3227]

😂

[@19megamustaine85]

💩💩👹👹

[@rhysenna]

😂😂😂

[@aureliobrighton1871]

Besides the fantastic garage atmosphere, interview style and legendary drivers (and obviously the point), to me only a british woman can be appealing like that just by diction, intonation and the most casual appearance in the world. Regards from Munich 🌻:)

[@m0ondoggy]

It's crazy out of all of those teams, McLaren and Ferrari are the only ones still running. I'm well aware that Tyrrell is today Mercedes, but still.

[@sonorastar2239]

She was so pretty.

[@ecossearthur]

Sweet Annie!

[@sonicstep]

06:21, Emerson Fittipaldi if I'm not mistaken.

[@bobscu]

Propper F1, unlike the business/media circus we suffer nowadays.

[@InZomnia365]

There's something so strange about seeing something so old in such high quality.

[@cliffbarre6970]

Annie asking all the right questions and making them sound silly 😎

[@michaelcagle4662]

Seems a bit of flirting going on😂

[@hamadeos8354]

02:06 flirty hair adjust shot :)

[@johnmcguigan7218]

Annie died only a few months ago. RIP

[@tachikomakusanagi3744]

5:08 - Annie deciding that Formula 1 racing isn't for her.

[@robber_h]

Peter Gethin looks like his about to chat her up haha

[@mackeymichael]

Do ya blame him shes looks like a hot as pommy to me.

[@chrismurphy8383]

Oh, Peter

[@top_ghia]

Peter Gethin on the pull, 70s style!

[@lot6129]

"NICE TIGHT FIT" LOLO

[@AlejandroPerez-lp6qq]

Qué hermoso video !!!

[@sonicstep]

03:52, Peter presses the light to show they failed to adequately tighten its rear nut. It's all very high tech. isn't it? 😕 To think two years earlier, Neil stepped on the Moon..; allegedly. 😆😂

[@RIUUI007]

1:05 😄 He just gave us the finger

[@sonicstep]

00:52, To put that in perspective, you could buy a three bedroom semi-detached property with a garage and a decent sized garden back then for that money; in suburban London.! Now such properties are £500,000 minimum. 😳 Interesting how street cars can develop more now, yet don't require such frequent rebuilds. I mean they can do tens' of thousands of miles before a rebuild.

[@johnathandaviddunster38]

❤❤❤❤❤❤❤

[@marjoh669]

3:34 Well, well, well Annie (R.I.P)… You were correct with that statement! Only off by around 30-40 years😄

[@Porsche996driver]

6:27 A great visual how diminutive these cars were.

[@brizzieleif5258]

Back in the days when it was practically a Sunday meet.

[@joanne26]

Motor Racing even in the 70’s was so dangerous. Health and Safety was not top priority then. I loved watching on the BBC all the races especially the Monaco GP. It was all so glamorous. Men like Peter Gethin were so sexy but diced with death and women loved that However were they better days 👍 👍 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿🙏🙏😃😃🫤🫤

[@The2volvos]

Peter Gethin sounds (and acts) like Spinal Tap's Nigel Tufnell...this rev counter goes to 11.

[@jeffersonvasconcelos2052]

6:03 Bon Scott

[@JonnyCooper]

What was Annie doing in his flat on Sunday morni...oh, wait.

[@rgarlinyc]

Seven thousand five hundred Sterling for a McLaren F1 engine? 😲I'll take, uh... six! 😆😂

[@johntate5050]

£7500 in today's money is £91,000. So 6 engines will cost you £546,000. Are you still wanting to place an order?

[@rgarlinyc]

@@johntate5050 Who said anything about "today''s money"?

[@johntate5050]

@@rgarlinycDon't you understand what inflation is? £7500 in 1971 is the equivalent of £91,000 in today's money. The average weekly wage in 1971 was £13. Try buying 6 F1 engines costing over 5 grand each with that sort of income.

[@rgarlinyc]

@@johntate5050 Good G_d John, I guess any sense of humor you may have been born with was surgically removed at birth? Didn't you notice two guffawing emojis I ended my comment with? The whole point of my comment was to pretend - to joke - that that was still the price today. Lighten up. Not everything is meant to be taken literally. Sheesh! 🤦🏻‍♂

[@martijnb3381]

Cool movie. They just are showing us the engine😅, really a different world back then.

[@AS-pk3su]

A few more Kiwi accents in the team back then…

[@rodericde876]

Phil is his nickname, his real name is Wayne.

[@michaelsheedy]

These drivers of this era were real daredevils, much like the Isle of Mann motorcycle racers of today. One wrong move and very bad results. Indy car racing on high speed ovals is pretty scary also.

[@maggiemay427]

Oy you two, get a room.

[@theeggtimertictic1136]

Get a room!

[@danielktdoranie]

He was pretty lecherous wasn’t he? 😂

[@primalconvoy]

He was lecherous and a little curt/rude too. Was she interested in him? I felt that there was some sort of awkward (possibly manufactured?) chemistry between them, possibly due to Annie being in close proximity to him?

[@GBURGE55]

He definitely liked the ladies!​@@danielktdoranie

[@southwestkinema9149]

@@primalconvoyI think Annie was playing along with him. Carry on style