 before joining McLaren in 1982 and worked as the company aerodynamicist until 1988, when he was promoted to head of research and development for the next two years.In 1997, Bell moved to the Benetton Formula team, working there with Nick Wirth.He worked as the Senior Aerodynamicist at Benetton until 1999, when he went to the Jordan Grand Prix team joining them as the head of vehicle technology, after being invited by his former McLaren colleague Mike Gascoyne.