Veteran engineer Jock Clear is to leave championship winners Mercedes for Ferrari, replacing Pat Fry.

It is understood however, that the Briton's contract with the German team means that he cannot actually join the Maranello outfit until next November, though it is understood the two teams are seeking an agreement.

Clear has been at Brackley since the very start, heading there in 1999, when it was BAR, along with Jacques Villeneuve, who he had engineered at Williams. Continuing as Senior Race Engineer after Villeneuve's departure, Clear worked with Takuma Sato and Rubens Barrichello (as Honda), continuing with the Brazilian as the team morphed into Brawn.

When Mercedes bought Brawn, Clear, having by now attained a PhD in Mechanical Engineering at Heriot Watt University, was appointed Track Engineer and then Performance Engineer , working closely with Lewis Hamilton.

Having entered F1 in 1989 with Benetton, he subsequently spent time with Leyton House and Lotus before moving to Williams in 1995.

It is understood Clear told Mercedes of his intention to leave following the season finale in Abu Dhabi, the German team unable to offer him a role of similar standing to that on offer from its Maranello rivals.