F1 News: Alpine Loses Yet Another Senior Role After Horrific Start To Season
The Alpine F1 team has suffered another major setback as veteran Bob Bell departs from his advisory role, adding to the ongoing leaving of senior figures after a disastrous start to the 2024 season.
Key takeaways:
- Bob Bell, a long-serving advisor and former technical director, has left Alpine F1 team.
- Alpine has endured a flurry of high-profile exits, including technical chief and aerodynamics head.
- The team's poor on-track performance in Bahrain exacerbated the turmoil within the French outfit.
Bell's departure marks the latest chapter in Alpine's ongoing struggles, as the team grapples with a leadership vacuum and underwhelming performance on the track. The 65-year-old Briton, who had been associated with the Enstone-based outfit since its Benetton days in the late 1990s, served as the team's technical director during Fernando Alonso's championship-winning years in 2005 and 2006.
Alpine's woes began last year when team principal Otmar Szafnauer and sporting director Alan Permane were ousted from their roles, sparking a series of high-profile exits. Chief technical officer Pat Fry and CEO Laurent Rossi also parted ways with the team. This continued when Technical Director Matt Harman confirmed he would also be leaving.
The on-track performance in Bahrain only exacerbated the team's turmoil. Pierre Gasly and Esteban Ocon qualified at the back of the grid, with Ocon finishing 17th and Gasly 18th, highlighting a worrying regression for the French manufacturer.
This weekend hosts the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, and Esteban Ocon will be going into the Saturday (race day) with optimism being one of only six drivers to ever lead the race since its beginning in 2021. And alongside Pierre Gasly, both drivers have a 100% scoring record so far. Hopefully for the team, they can maintain this success.