Vettel hails Ferrari's new chief engineer Jock Clear

Ferrari drivers Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Räikkönen are happy that former long-time Mercedes engineer Jock Clear joined to Scuderia to take up a leading role inside the team. They think that his experiences could be big asset for the Maranello-based outfit.

Jock Clear returned to Formula 1 after a year abstence. The 52-year-old Briton had to sit out the whole 2015 season after he parted ways with Mercedes at the end of 2014.

Clear was part of the Mercedes familiy for 15 years and worked as Lewis Hamilton's race engineer in his last role at the Anglo-German team. He wanted to pursue new challenges at Ferrari, but for that he has been put on gardening leave.

The Briton took up a senior role at Ferrari. He oversees the track actions and operations which enabled the Italian team's technical chief James Allison to miss races in order to concentrate more on car development in the team's factory.

"He is clear, very structured and with the amount of his experiences he is an asset for the team, " said Vettel.

Vettel builds his hope on the qualities of Clear.

"I think that his attitude and his experiences will be very useful for us."

Räikkönen is also happy about the arrival of Jock Clear, but he stresses the importance of the cooperation within the team against the importance of the individual contribution.

"We are delighted that he is here, but it is still too early. I am sure he can help us, but he is only one person. We work as a team," said the 2007 champion to 'Sky Sport F1'.