F1: Manor recruits veteran Bob Bell

Manor has made a key acquisition for its Formula 1 revival with the signing of former Mercedes technical director Bob Bell as a technical consultant.

Bell is recognized as one of the most experienced players in F1, previously working at McLaren, Benetton, Jordan and Renault, and most recently at Mercedes for three and a half years up until November last year.

The team claims Bell will be "applying his considerable industry experience supporting and advising Manor's senior management as they rebuild the team and formulate an ambitious long-term plan."

Bell's appointment comes soon after the acquisition of Gianluca Pisanello as chief engineer, as revealed by AUTOSPORT last month. Manor has also signed up former Toro Rosso chief designer Luca Furbatto as its head of design.

"It's been a dramatic but rewarding start to our 2015 season, and we're only now able to settle into more of a rhythm, allowing us to look to the future," said team principal John Booth. "Our focus this season is to re-build the foundations of the team and develop our internal capabilities.

"As ever in Formula 1, we rely on the experience, tenacity and drive of our colleagues, so we're delighted to welcome our new teammates. Each of them brings a huge amount of experience from within the sport, adding further dimensions to our existing technical and engineering capability.

"While we seek to optimize our performance during the remainder of the 2015 season, we can also turn our attention to the next exciting chapter in our story – 2016 and beyond."

Originally on Autosport.com