Mercedes has confirmed that Lewis Hamilton’s performance engineer, Jock Clear, will leave the team at the end of the year.
Clear, who has worked alongside several drivers including Jacques Villeneuve and Michael Schumacher, was assigned to Hamilton when the Briton joined Mercedes in 2013.
His departure has been the subject of much speculation for the past week, but a Mercedes spokesperson finally confirmed he would vacate his role with the team.
“We thank Jock for his work and wish him well and all the best for the future.”
It’s believed he will be heading to Ferrari to replace Pat Fry who, alongside Nikolas Tombazis and Hirohide Hamashima, are the latest engineers to lose their jobs at Maranello thanks to new team principal Maurizio Arrivabene’s restucture.
However Clear’s contract prevents him starting at the Italian marque until 2016, therefore it’s likely Ferrari will hope to bargain with Mercedes in order to get Clear working much sooner.
