Northern Irishman Bob Bell, historic figure at the Enstone factory, is leaving Alpine to become technical executive director of Aston Martin, the British team said on Wednesday.
The 65-year-old engineer, who was a technical consultant for the Renault group’s English factory, was no longer directly involved in the French team’s F1 activities but spent a large part of his career there.
Bell notably held the position of technical director during the world coronations in 2005 and 2006 of the Spaniard Fernando Alonso, whom he will find at Aston Martin. He even briefly held the position of Team Principal in 2009 and then General Manager in 2010.
Even if it is not linked to Alpine’s current disappointing performances, this departure illustrates the instability of the French team which announced on Monday “organizational changes” with the departure of technical director Matt Harman and the appointment of three new technical directors for engineering, aerodynamics and performance.
After a disappointing 2023 season ended in sixth place in the manufacturers’ standings, the Renault group brand saw its two French drivers, Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly, take 17th and 18th places in the Bahrain Grand Prix, the first round of the season. , SATURDAY. For Aston Martin, the arrival of the very experienced Northern Irish engineer is, however, a very good achievement and demonstrates the desire of the Silverstone team to build a team capable of fighting for the title in the medium term.