Gareth Bellin

Gareth Bellin broke onto the F1 scene back in 2007, and from the very beginning proved to be an enormously talented driver. At the time, he was the two-time defending Furmula 2 champion and was given the second Belmonte seat with three-time defending champion Valentino Scorchio. The young badger proved to be every bit of the talent he was billed to be, finishing 4th in the final standings and taking his inaugural victory in the European Grand Prix at the Nurburgring, though he felt like there were moments where he could have beaten Scorchio that year. Bellin would take the lead seat at Belmonte after the scandal of 2008 with a point to prove after having all of his points and the victory taken away from him. Being forced to use the 2007 car put him at a disadvantage and he struggled to stay competitive, only scoring 20 points and finishing a distant 12th. But Bellin did show flashes of brilliance, finishing 2nd at his home race at Silverstone and 3rd at Suzuka.

When Belmonte was disbanded after the season, he was able to get a seat with the newly formed Reynault factory team. Partnering with Reynault again would be a boon to the badger, and Bellin was once again in the hunt. But he would finish 3rd in the championship in both 2009 and 2010 to the Reigns drivers Joanne Burton and Darren Mitchell. The 2011 season would be a struggle as the Reynault had reliability issues against the Furraris and Purcedes, though he still won 3 times that season and finished 5th. Bellin was contemplating leaving the Reynault team, and was strongly linked to a move to Reigns, but he stayed loyal to Reynault and signed a three-year contract extension through 2016. 2012 saw Bellin come roaring back into contention, taking a relatively strong Reynault car and putting it into position to win every week. Four times he would take the top step on the podium, including at the inaugural race at the Circuit of the Americas, but he would fall four points short of Darren Mitchell - his fiercest rival on the track, and one of his best friends off of it. 2013 would see Bellin have his best season yet, winning 7 of the 19 races that year. But once again, Mitchell would win the world championship over his fellow Brit. 2014 and 2015 would see Bellin slide a little, but he finished 3rd both seasons and would earn six more wins over the course of the two season. In 2016, he would be locked in a season-long battle with Hilda Goldschmidt, the two exchanging the lead as the badger would set a career-high in poles (10) and wins (8).

It set up for a high stakes, winner-take-all finale at Yas Marina, with Bellin taking the pole and was out to a comfortable lead when disaster struck at lap 54. He was two laps from finally clinching his first World Championship when his engine started losing power after the Turn 8 hairpin. He was able to make it back to the pit lane, but the smoke pouring from the back meant he would be unable to finish, and helplessly watched Goldschmidt as she took the title. The enraged badger was said to have thrown his helmet and steering wheel back into the cockpit, and refused to take part in any of the post-race ceremonies. After that race, Bellin announced that he would be leaving the team. Since then, Bellin has been racing in the Furry Le Mans Series, driving a LMP prototype for Pawdi. He finally won his first major championship in 2018 and was on the winning team at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. But his heart is clearly in F1, and told the team managers at Pawdi that he would leave for the chance to get back in, as he has "unfinished business that needs attending to."