He started racing in 1964 with a Lotus Seven. He graduated to Formula 3 in the following year and in 1966 scored his first victory at Goodwood. In 1967 he enjoyed seven wins. He entered Formula 2 in a Brabham and had several promising performances, which caught Ferrari's eye and made his Grand Prix debut at Monza. In 1969 he raced at Silverstone with Ferrari and also raced the four-wheel-drive McLaren M9A in its only race in the British Grand Prix.
Bell was also a runner in the 1970 European Formula 2 Championship driving a March. In 1972 he got the drive in the Tecno F1 team, along with Nanni Galli. He did a number a races with the Surtees team again but also spent some time building a strong reputation as a fine sports car racer.
mostly with Jacky Ickx on one of the Porsche 936 and Porsche 956/Porsche 962 models. Ickx/Bell is nowadays considered as one of the most famous pairings in motorsport history.
Bell was awarded the MBE in 1986 for services to motorsport.
Bell was hired to consult for the Bentley team in 2001, helping them to win Le Mans two years later. He now split his time in the United States and the United Kingdom and does commentary on Formula One races and drives in historic events, usually providing an ambassordorial duty for Porsche.
Complete Formula One results
(Note: Grand Prix in bold denotes points scoring race.)
