Mercedes has confirmed the departure of new world champion
Lewis Hamilton's performance engineer
Jock Clear. "We thank Jock for his work and wish him well and all the best for the future," international media quote a spokesperson as saying.
The confirmation follows reports in the German press this week that Briton Clear, who engineered
Jacques Villeneuve's title in 1997 and worked alongside
Michael Schumacher until 2012, is heading to
Ferrari. "After leaving Mercedes, Clear cannot now work in formula one for a year," the German newspaper Bild claims.
It is expected, however, that Ferrari will want Clear to begin work shortly as the fabled Maranello marque completes its sweeping personnel shakeup. The Italian team will therefore have to reach an agreement with Mercedes so that Clear can move into a role that reportedly will be similar to the one vacated by the newly-ousted
Pat Fry.
Mercedes man Clear would, then, work in 2015 alongside another new Ferrari recruit
Sebastian Vettel, who hails from Red Bull. Vettel's old team boss
Christian Horner said this week: "We're going to see Sebastian in red which is going to be a bit different and weird for the first few races. I think we're set for a fantastic season.
Fernando Alonso in
McLaren ... again. I think it's going to be a season of change," he predicted. (GMM)
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