Aston Martin set for 'better level' with old Alonso ally

Fernando Alonso is confident Aston Martin will be taken to "a better level" following the arrival of a man who helped him become a two-time F1 champion.

The Spaniard's comment comes after Aston Martin recently announced the signing of Bob Bell as an Executive Director.

Bell played an integral part during Alonso's success-filled years at Renault as he held the position of Technical Director when the 42-year-old won his two world championships in 2005 and 2006.

Bell's arrival at Aston Martin follows a period at Alpine where he was involved in non-F1 projects over the past few years.

“Bob was taking on a very different role back then, in the two championship years,” Alonso told media including RacingNews365. “Now he was more into special projects [at Alpine], I understood.

“But those kinds of senior role people, they bring always background knowledge about how to run a competitive team, and how to have a good structure in the factory.

“So the contribution of Bob hopefully brings Aston to a better level, and that's the aim, so I'm happy to welcome him.”

Alonso highlights problem with new senior figures

Aston Martin is attempting to continue its strong momentum from last year when it took eight podium finishes during the campaign.

With Bell now involved in the project, Alonso highlighted that the biggest difficulty is to ensure all senior figures are aligned.

"Always when more people come to the team, there is not really any disadvantage, to be honest," he added.

“There is always an advantage. And the problem is to convince everyone to work together as a team, and as a group.

“So that's the role also of Martin [Whitmarsh], and the role of Lawrence [Stroll] as a leader.

“I think we have a great technical group of people and great leadership as well. So step-by-step, hopefully, creating a bigger team."