Stefan Bellof was a German racing phenomenon whose meteoric rise through the motorsport ranks made him one of the most electrifying talents of his era. A factory Porsche driver and 1984 FIA World Endurance Champion, Bellof is forever linked to the Nürburgring Nordschleife, where his otherworldly 6:11 qualifying lap for the 1983 1000 km race stood untouched for 35 years. He also tackled Formula One with Tyrrell in 1984 and 1985. His life and career were cut tragically short when he was killed in an accident at Spa during the 1985 1000 km race.
| Nationality | German |
|---|---|
| Born | 20 November 1957 Gießen, West Germany |
| Died | 1 September 1985 (aged 27) Spa-Francorchamps, Belgium |
Career
Karting
Born in Gießen, West Germany, Stefan Bellof launched his competitive career in 1973, following brother Georg into karting. His first season in the Automobilclub von Deutschland’s Federal Junior Cup ended in a strong fourth place, and over the next few years he became a reliable fixture near the front of national standings. In 1976 he earned his first major title by conquering the International Karting Championship of Luxembourg, and also placed thirteenth in that year’s Karting World Championship on home soil in Hagen.
Georg took the German national crown in 1978; Stefan placed eighth that year, rose to third in 1979, and finally claimed the German championship in 1980—all while doubling his workload with increasing commitments in Formula Ford.
Junior Formulae
Bellof dipped into Formula Ford late in 1979 with Walter Lechner’s Racing School, immediately finishing second on debut at Hockenheim. A full 1600cc campaign in 1980 brought a tidal wave of success: the championship title with eight wins and nine podiums from twelve events. The following year was less dominant—five wins but more inconsistency—and Bellof also sampled the 2000cc category, though his pair of starts ended in retirements at Zolder and the Nürburgring. Three outings in the VW Castrol Europa Pokal brought one victory.
Simultaneously, Bellof stepped into German Formula Three with Bertram Schäfer Racing. Despite missing the first two rounds, he stormed into the championship lead before the finale, having finished inside the top four in every one of his opening eight races. The Nürburgring finale proved his undoing: thirteenth place allowed rivals Frank Jelinski and Franz Konrad to overtake him in the standings, leaving Bellof eleven points shy of the crown.
He closed the season with an appearance at the Formula Ford Festival at Brands Hatch, where he was disqualified after finishing sixth in his quarter-final for excessive contact. Frustrated but undeterred, Bellof reportedly promised the clerk of the course that he would soon return—and win his first Formula 2 race.
Formula Two
True to his word, Bellof tested with Maurer Motorsport at Paul Ricard at the end of 1981, alongside Mike Thackwell and Alain Ferté. Maurer driver Eje Elgh was impressed and recommended Bellof to the team owner, Willy Maurer. With limited BMW backing secured, Bellof signed on for 1982, along with an eight-year management agreement with Maurer.
His Formula Two debut was the 1982 BRDC International Trophy at Silverstone. Starting ninth in damp conditions, Bellof delivered immediately on his Festival promise by tearing through the field and winning by 21 seconds over Satoru Nakajima. He became the first driver to win the event outright and only the second in history to win on his European F2 debut. He followed that with another victory at Hockenheim’s Jim Clark Memorial race, taking pole and fastest lap for good measure.
After that blistering start, the remaining six races yielded only two points, dropping him to fourth in the final standings with 33 points.
His 1983 F2 campaign was far less fruitful. He reached the podium only once—second at Jarama—and lost a third place at Pau when both Maurer cars failed the post-race weight check. A fourth at Silverstone was his only other score, leaving him ninth overall.
Sportscar Racing
Bellof made his first World Endurance Championship start in 1982 at the 1000 km of Spa, sharing a Kremer CK5 with Rolf Stommelen. A starter-motor issue ended their run early. He also drove for Kremer the previous weekend in the DRM’s Hessen Cup at Hockenheim, where transmission failure halted his race.
Everything changed in 1983 when he joined the works Rothmans Porsche squad to drive the legendary Porsche 956 alongside Derek Bell. Their first outing together—Silverstone’s 1000 km—brought an emphatic win, with Bellof’s pole lap fast enough to place him mid-grid at that year’s Formula One British Grand Prix.
Then came the Nürburgring. Bellof’s qualifying lap of 6:11.13 around the Nordschleife stunned the racing world and still stands as the fastest lap ever driven on the circuit’s modern configuration. His average speed topped 202 km/h. In the race, he set the still-official lap record of 6:25.91 before a violent crash at Pflanzgarten ended his run. He recovered to win races at Kyalami and Fuji and a non-championship event at the Norisring, finishing the season fourth in the standings.
In 1984, Bellof dominated the World Endurance Championship. Driving with Bell and occasionally John Watson—and winning at Imola with Brun Motorsport and Hans-Joachim Stuck—he claimed victories at Monza (after a successful appeal reinstated the Porsche), the Nürburgring, Spa, Mosport, and Sandown. Bellof secured the Drivers’ Championship by eight points over Jochen Mass, while Porsche took the Manufacturers’ title. He also won the German DRM championship.
Bellof raced sparingly in 1985 but still claimed a win at the Norisring with Thierry Boutsen.
Formula One
Bellof tested a Formula One car for the first time in late 1983 at Silverstone, sharing a McLaren test day with Ayrton Senna and Martin Brundle. A gearbox issue cut his run short, but by 1984 he had secured a race seat at Tyrrell alongside Brundle. Their naturally aspirated Ford-powered cars were significantly down on power compared to the turbo juggernauts of the era.
Bellof retired from his first two races, then scored points at Zolder and Imola. A podium-worthy drive came in the drenched 1984 Monaco Grand Prix. Starting last in 20th, he threaded his way through crash after crash to chase down Senna and Prost before the race was halted. His charge from the back remains one of F1’s most talked-about wet-weather performances.
But the momentum ended abruptly when the FIA stripped Tyrrell of all 1984 points over illegal ballast in the fuel system, ultimately excluding the team from the championship. Ironically, Bellof missed his home Grand Prix that season to race—and podium—in the WEC at Mosport with Derek Bell.
He returned with Tyrrell in 1985, though he sat out the season opener in Brazil. At Estoril he delivered another storming wet-weather run from 21st to sixth, earning the only official F1 point of his career. He failed to qualify at Monaco—his only DNQ—but redeemed himself with fourth in Detroit, his final points in Formula One. His last race was the Dutch Grand Prix, where his Renault turbo engine failed.
Death
On 1 September 1985, during the 1000 km of Spa, Bellof was making his fourth WEC appearance of the season, sharing a Brun-run Porsche 956B with Thierry Boutsen. They qualified third.
On lap 78, Bellof attempted to attack Jacky Ickx’s works Porsche 962C through the flat-out Eau Rouge–Raidillon sequence. As Bellof moved alongside, a momentary aerodynamic disturbance pulled Ickx’s car left, triggering contact between Ickx’s rear wheel and Bellof’s front. The two cars split violently in opposite directions. Ickx spun into the barrier tail-first and survived; Bellof’s car struck head-on at enormous speed, breaking through the guardrail and igniting shortly after. Rescue crews and fellow drivers fought to reach him, but he succumbed to massive internal injuries at the circuit hospital.
The race was halted early out of respect. The crash was captured on Ickx’s in-car camera, which continued filming even after the impact. Bellof’s death came just three weeks after Manfred Winkelhock was killed in another Porsche 956-series accident, deepening concern among teams about continuing to run the car. By late 1986, the once-dominant 956 was withdrawn from world championship competition.
Effect and Legacy
Bellof’s fatal accident helped trigger a shift in Formula One contract culture: teams increasingly barred their drivers from racing in any non-F1 events. Even before his death, several top outfits—including Ferrari—had recognised Bellof’s potential; a meeting with Enzo Ferrari regarding a 1986 drive had reportedly been arranged.
Michael Schumacher would later cite Bellof as a childhood racing hero, and Derek Bell reflected that while Bellof was astonishingly quick, he sometimes lacked the restraint that experience brings. In 2010, the Bellof family donated much of his memorabilia—karts, helmets, overalls, trophies—to the Sammler und Hobbywelt museum. A kart circuit in Oppenrod carries his name.
In 2009, a poll of 217 Formula One drivers ranked Bellof as the 35th-greatest F1 driver of all time. In 2013, the Nürburgring honoured him by renaming the Pflanzgarten III section as the “Stefan-Bellof-S.” And in 2015, at the 6 Hours of Spa, Timo Bernhard raced with a helmet replicating Bellof’s iconic design to mark the 30th anniversary of his passing.
Find out how Stefan Bellof stands among Formula 1’s greatest drivers without a win in our feature on the sport’s most remarkable nearly-winners.
Stefan Bellof Formula One World Championship Career
| F1 Career | 1984–1985 |
|---|---|
| Teams | Tyrrell |
| Entries | 22 (20 starts) |
| Championships | 0 |
| Wins | 0 |
| Podiums | 0 |
| Career points | 4 |
| Pole positions | 0 |
| Fastest laps | 0 |
| First entry | 1984 Brazilian Grand Prix |
| Last entry | 1985 Dutch Grand Prix |
Stefan Bellof Teammates
| 7 drivers | Involvement | First Year | Last Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Manfred Winkelhock | 2 | 1983 | |
| Niki Lauda | 2 | 1983 | 1984 |
| John Watson | 1 | 1983 | |
| Martin Brundle | 20 | 1984 | 1985 |
| Stefan Johansson | 5 | 1984 | 1985 |
| Mike Thackwell | 1 | 1984 | |
| Alain Prost | 1 | 1984 |
Stefan Bellof Complete Formula One Results
| Year | Entrant | Chassis | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | WDC | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1984 | Tyrrell Racing Organisation | Tyrrell 012 | Ford Cosworth DFY 3.0 V8 | BRA DSQ | RSA DSQ | BEL DSQ | SMR DSQ | FRA DSQ | MON DSQ | CAN DSQ | DET DSQ | DAL DSQ | GBR DSQ | GER | AUT EX | NED DSQ | ITA | EUR | POR | NC | 0* |
| 1985 | Tyrrell Racing Organisation | Tyrrell 012 | Ford Cosworth DFY 3.0 V8 | BRA | POR 6 | SMR Ret | MON DNQ | CAN 11 | DET 4 | FRA 13 | GBR 11 | 16th | 4 | ||||||||
| Tyrrell 014 | Renault EF4B 1.5 V6 t | GER 8 | AUT 7 | NED Ret | ITA | BEL | EUR | RSA | AUS | 16th | 4 |
