F1 veteran Bob Bell leaves Alpine to join Aston Martin

Bob Bell has swapped the Alpine F1 team for Aston Martin.

The F1 veteran was in an advisory role but has now exited to link up again with Fernando Alonso as Aston Martin's executive director (technical).

Bell was technical director during Alonso's two world championship years at Renault.

But he will now report into Mike Krack in a job which oversees Aston Martin's Technical, Engineering and Performance departments.

Bell said: “I have been impressed by the progress Aston Martin Aramco has made in recent years. 

"The opportunity to play my part in that journey is incredibly exciting and I look forward to working with the great technical leaders at Silverstone. 

"The scale and ambition of this project is highly motivating. I am a racer, and I see the hunger and determination powering this team. I look forward to playing my part with Mike and the rest of the team.”

Team principal Krack said: “I am delighted to welcome Bob Bell to Aston Martin Aramco. 

"This is a key appointment to ensure we are optimising everything we do as a team and focusing on the right performance areas. 

"Bob’s track record in the sport speaks for itself and his experience will help us continue to make steps forward on the exciting journey we are on.”

Bell's history with Alpine dates back to 1997. He has spent three stints with them, through their Benetton and Renault days.

Since 2018 he worked in an advisory capacity and was largely working with Alpine Labs, their organisation which works on racing technology away from F1.

But he remained a major figure for the F1 team who are enduring a terrible start to 2024.

Technical director Matt Harman and head of aerodynamics Dirk de Beer have both quit their jobs and are currently serving their notice periods.

The exodus began last year when team principal Otmar Szafnauer and sporting director Alan Permane lost their jobs.

Pat Fry (chief technical officer) and Laurent Rossi (CEO) also left.

On-track Pierre Gasly and Esteban Ocon got off to a bad start at the season-opening F1 Bahrain Grand Prix.

They qualified at the back of the grid. Ocon finished the grand prix 17th, Gasly 18th, representing a worrying regression.