Aston Martin have strengthened their squad by appointing Bob Bell as the executive director of their technical side. This comes as an enormous boost for the ongoing season where the Silverstone team does not look to be where they expected. Amid this, Fernando Alonso and Bell’s reunion may give them some impetus for the next 22 races.
Bell is well known for his Renault days where he worked as a deputy technical director and technical director. It was under his leadership when Renault and Alonso claimed both Constructors’ and Drivers’ Championships in 2005 and 2006.
Before his joining, Bell served his duty in non-F1 projects at Alpine, formerly Renault for years. Now, he will join forces with Alonso as the Silverstone-based team readying itself to provide a race-winning car. Therefore, the British aerodynamicist’s addition to Aston Martin has come in the nick of time.
| Bob Bell has left an advisory role at Alpine to join Aston Martin as executive director pic.twitter.com/q9zomGXMpN
— Aston Martin Formula 1 News (@AMF1News) March 6, 2024
Speaking about this, Alonso said, in a report published by RacingNews365, “Bob was taking on a very different role back then [at Renault], in the two championship years. But those kinds of senior role people, they always bring background knowledge about how to run a competitive team, and how to have a good structure in the factory.”
Following this, he added, “So the contribution of Bob hopefully brings Aston to a better level, and that’s the aim, so I’m happy to welcome him.” Aston Martin could not match their expectations at the start of this season. They fell short by miles in 2024, unlike 2023 where they claimed back-to-back podiums in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia by now.
Can Fernando Alonso move away from Aston Martin?
Fernando Alonso joined Aston Martin at the end of the 2022 season and to be fair he has been the lone warrior of the team since then. The Spanish driver single-handedly helped the Silverstone team finish in P5 in the Constructors’ Championship and claim all eight podiums.
The sheer brilliance of the Spaniard brought Mercedes’ attention after Lewis Hamilton’s move to Ferrari next year materialized. The Silver Arrows would need a fitting driver to fill the vacuum left by the seven-time world champion. Many tout Alonso, a two-time world champion a perfect fit indeed.
Happy with the top 5 here in Jeddah. Thank you team for the hard work over these last 3 weeks away from home and see you in the next one! @AstonMartinF1 pic.twitter.com/2bjim1csTA
— Fernando Alonso (@alo_oficial) March 9, 2024
The 42-year-old’s contract with Aston Martin ends at the end of 2024 and he is yet to renew it. Therefore, the #14 driver has multiple teams at his disposal to decide and then go for the best option. However, Lawrence Stroll’s team wants to retain their star driver.
Speaking about this, Mike Krack, the team principal of Aston Martin said as per Crash, “We want to continue working with Fernando. The most important thing is that we give him a quick car so he believes in this project, and believes in this team. It is clear that a driver of that caliber is attractive to everybody. That is clear. But we will try to keep him.”
Apart from delivering fascinating performances, Fernando Alonso also brought fresh air of motivation that raised the morale of Aston Martin. Nonetheless, Alonso may consider the team for his future that has a better chance of delivering him a race-winning car in 2025 and beyond.
