🇩🇪 Stefan Bellof

Stefan Bellof was a German driver racing in Formula 1 for Tyrrell across 1984 and 1985, competing at an established professional level. His 21 starts in the championship were spread across two seasons at a single team, fielding him among a grid that mixed emerging drivers with multiple champions.[1]

Bellof finished 13th in the 1985 Formula 1 championship standings across nine rounds. His racing record in the series placed him mid-field against the elite drivers of his era. He regularly encountered Alain Prost, a multiple world champion, and typically finished behind him; his record against Nelson Piquet, a three-time champion and FIA Platinum-graded driver, was more closely matched. He finished ahead of Piquet at least once and beat established professional Gerhard Berger twice.[2]

Bellof's wider racing career encompassed the 1984 World Endurance Championship, where he won the drivers' title for Porsche. His lap record on the Nordschleife at the Nürburgring, set in 1983, remained the fastest qualifying time for 35 years until 2018. His career in motorsport was cut short in an accident during the 1985 1000 km of Spa.