Bell convinced Renault will pull through

"I think temporarily the team is not going to look perhaps in the greatest of light, but the team will pull through it," Bell, who is standing for Flavio Briatore, told reporters in Singapore.

"Life moves on. Formula 1 is no exception and I think that the team will pull itself out of it.

"It will demonstrate what it does on the track, and in the factories, and show again to people that we deserve the high reputation that we have always held."

Bell, formerly Renault's technical director, has been put in charge of the team after Briatore was banned for being found guilty of conspiring to fix the result of last year's race in Singapore.

The team boss admitted the factory staff was very concerned about losing their jobs after the scandal came to light.

"I think for the ordinary guys in the factory, and indeed for all of us, myself included, we were quite genuinely sitting there thinking we could potentially lose our jobs over this," he said. "How are we then going to pay the mortgages?

"There were very deep and heartfelt feelings in the factory of, first of all, sadness that we would find ourselves in the situation in the first place. And then, of course, the consequences of it - for the team members as individuals and their families. And the concept of the team itself, which is something we are very proud of.

"We do genuinely subscribe to the view that we are a real racing team and most people in the team feel themselves as being a member of a family, an extended family, and we are very proud of it. But we were never comfortable with the situation we found ourselves in, and the consequences that we could have gone out of business as a result."

Bell admitted he was very proud to have been asked to lead the team until the end of the season, despite the situation the French squad is in.

"It is a dream job obviously, but in very difficult circumstances," Bell added. "I am taking a very pragmatic and realistic approach to it. The team needed somebody to step in and see through the rest of the season. I have agreed to do that. I am very happy to do it.

"My motivation as ever is to see that the team continues and continues successfully - and I am very proud that I have been asked to do it and I relish the challenge."

And he claimed he was not surprised by the exits of sponsors ING and Mutua Madrilena following the scandal.

"To some extent it wasn't unexpected. Both of those sponsors were due to finish with us at the end of the year. They chose for their own reasons to terminate earlier than that. It wasn't a huge surprise. It was a disappointment but we expected it, and we will move on from it."