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Bob Bell has changed the Alpine F1 team for Aston Martin.
The F1 veteran was in an advisory role but has now left to link up again with Fernando Alonso as Aston Martin chief executive (technical).
Bell was technical director during Alonso’s two world championship years at Renault.
But he will now report to Mike Krack in a job overseeing Aston Martin’s Technical, Engineering and Performance departments.
Bell said: “I have been impressed with 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 very motivating. I am a racer and I see the hunger and determination driving 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 optimizing 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 move forward on the exciting journey we are on.”
Bell’s history with Alpine dates back to 1997. He has spent three seasons with them, during his days at Benetton and Renault.
Since 2018 he has worked as a consultant and worked mainly with Alpine Labs, his organization working on racing technology outside of F1.
But he remained an important figure for the F1 team, which is enduring a terrible start to 2024.
Technical director Matt Harman and head of aerodynamics Dirk de Beer have left their positions and are currently serving their notice periods.
The exodus began last year when team manager Otmar Szafnauer and sporting director Alan Permane lost their jobs.
Pat Fry (technical director) and Laurent Rossi (CEO) also left.
On track Pierre Gasly and Esteban Ocon had a poor start in the season-opening F1 Bahrain Grand Prix.
They qualified at the end of the grid. Ocon finished the grand prix in 17th place and Gasly in 18th, representing a worrying regression.