Alpine veteran departs F1 team

Long-time Formula 1 engineer Bob Bell has departed his advisory role at the Alpine team.

Bell has long been associated with the squad having first joined up with it almost three decades ago.

He linked up the team when it ran under the Bennetton moniker in 1997 before a short stint at Jordan, after which he returned to Enstone when the team rebranded to Renault.

Bell played a pivotal role in Fernando Alonso's World Championship success seasons in 2005 and 2006, holding the role of Technical Director at the time.

The 65-year-old briefly held the Team Principal position in 2009 following the departure of Flavio Briatore.

Bell later had stints at Mercedes (during the Brackley-based outfit's early-hybrid era success) and Marussia before returning to Renault in 2016.

Over the last several years, Bell has been acting in an advisory role at Alpine.

The Belfast-born engineer's departure is not linked to the several high-profile exits that have rocked Alpine of late.