Bellasi is a Swiss-Italian motorsport engineering company specialising in the design and manufacture of composite components for racing cars. Although the company would later establish a reputation in motorsport engineering, it briefly competed as a Formula One constructor during the 1970 and 1971 seasons. Across its short Grand Prix career, Bellasi entered six World Championship events, qualifying for two races and making two race starts.
| Nationality | Italian |
| Base | Novara, Italy |
| Years Active | 1970–1971 |
| First Race | 1970 Austrian Grand Prix |
| Last Race | 1971 Italian Grand Prix |
| Race Entries | 6 |
| Race Starts | 2 |
| Podiums | 0 |
| Pole Positions | 0 |
| Fastest Laps | 0 |
| Points | 0 |
| Constructors’ Championships | 0 |
| Drivers’ Championships | 0 |
| Best Start | 22nd |
| Did Not Start | 0 |
| Did Not Qualify | 4 |
| Retirements | 2 |
The company was founded by Italian engineer and racing driver Guglielmo Bellasi, who initially focused on constructing Formula Three cars during the second half of the 1960s. Bellasi’s first Formula Three chassis debuted in 1966, entered by Scuderia Inter Corse and driven by Bellasi himself. Powered by a Ford engine, the car demonstrated encouraging pace, finishing third at the Circuito del Lago di Garda only weeks after its debut.
Bellasi continued to develop Formula Three machinery throughout the late 1960s. In 1967, Guglielmo Bellasi and Sandro Angeleri made several appearances, while the programme expanded significantly in 1968 when Scuderia Jolly Club campaigned up to four Bellasi chassis. Drivers including Sandro Angeleri, Pino Mariella, Franco Conti, and others competed in the Italian Formula Three Championship, with Mariella recording the marque’s best result by finishing fifth in the Coppa Autodromo at Monza.
Development continued into 1969, with Bellasi cars driven by Georges Ferreira, Pino Pica, and Giorgio Pianta. One of the car’s most distinctive technical features was its rear-mounted water radiator, an unconventional arrangement in which the coolant was heated by the engine’s exhaust system before being circulated. Although the design was innovative, it failed to provide any significant competitive advantage.
Formula One debut
Bellasi entered Formula One in 1970 after Swiss racing driver Silvio Moser commissioned Guglielmo Bellasi to design a bespoke Grand Prix car for his Silvio Moser Racing Team SA. Rather than purchasing an existing chassis from an established constructor, Moser chose to back Bellasi’s ambitious project in the hope of fielding a competitive independent entry.
The resulting Bellasi F1 was powered by the ubiquitous Ford Cosworth DFV V8 engine and incorporated several components from the Brabham BT24-3 that Moser had previously raced. The chassis featured a relatively simple riveted aluminium monocoque, while a tubular front subframe supported the suspension and radiator. Although technically conventional by Formula One standards, the car reflected the limited financial resources available to the small independent team.
The Bellasi made its World Championship debut at the 1970 Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort. However, Moser failed to qualify, and further attempts at the French Grand Prix ended with the same result. The team elected to skip the British Grand Prix, largely because no starting money was available for private entrants, before returning for the German Grand Prix, where qualification again proved unsuccessful.
Bellasi finally reached the Formula One starting grid at the 1970 Austrian Grand Prix, marking the constructor’s first World Championship race. Unfortunately, the debut was short-lived, as Moser retired after 13 laps with mechanical failure. At the season-ending Italian Grand Prix at Monza, the Bellasi once again failed to qualify.
Final appearances
The Bellasi chassis remained in use during 1971, despite the team’s limited budget. Before returning to the World Championship, the car appeared in the non-championship Argentine Grand Prix, entered by Scuderia Jolly Club, reflecting the continued support Bellasi received from the Italian racing organisation.
The constructor made one final World Championship appearance at the 1971 Italian Grand Prix. Moser successfully qualified the Bellasi for the race, giving the team its second Formula One start. However, reliability problems again prevented the car from reaching the finish, as it retired after just five laps with mechanical issues.
Following the Italian Grand Prix, Bellasi withdrew from Formula One competition. Although its Grand Prix career lasted only two seasons and yielded no championship points, the project represented one of the many ambitious private constructor efforts that characterised Formula One during the late 1960s and early 1970s. Competing against well-established manufacturers such as Lotus, Ferrari, McLaren, and Brabham proved an enormous challenge for a small independent team with limited financial backing, and Bellasi ultimately returned its focus to specialist motorsport engineering and the production of racing components.
Bellasi Stats by Season
| Year | Engine | Drivers | Entries | Starts | Wins | Podiums | Poles | Fastest Laps | Front Rows | DNF | Best Start | Best Result | Points | Championship |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970 | Ford Cosworth | Silvio Moser | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 24 | – | 0 | NC |
| 1971 | Ford Cosworth | Silvio Moser | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 22 | – | 0 | NC |
