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Jock Clear, Lewis Hamilton's race engineer at Mercedes, moves to Ferrari

The HR office at the Ferrari Formula One team has been exceptionally busy this year, and the churn hasn't ceased. Just this month under new team principal Mauricio Arrivabene – the third team principal in 2014 – lead designer Nikolas Tombazis and engineering director Pat Fry were let go, and tire performance expert Hirohide Hamashima will leave the team at the end of the year. Now there's another batch of HR paperwork to be completed, but this is a new hire to join Sebastian Vettel and Esteban Gutierrez: Jock Clear, Lewis Hamilton's performance engineer this season at Mercedes AMG Petronas. Clear will take over Pat Fry's vacant role as head of engineering, and brings a Driver's World Championship pedigree with him, having helped Hamilton to his second title and Jacques Villeneuve to his sole title in 1997 with Williams. He hasn't joined the Scuderia yet, though; Ferrari is still negotiating with Mercedes to "secure his services as soon as possible." Clear will work in a totally revamped engineering department and report to technical director and ex-Lotus F1 man James Allison. The last time Ferrari went an entire season without a win was 1993. The team has attempted to hedge expectations for 2015, Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne saying, "I think hopefully within the next 12 months we will remove all the baggage of uncertainty that is going to plague at least the initial phase of 2015." Hope springs yet, though: when Arrivabene was asked what he'd be happy with next year, he said, "two or three wins." News Source: ReutersImage Credit: Mark Thompson/Getty Images Hirings/Firings/Layoffs Motorsports Ferrari F1

The Monaco Grand Prix clearly highlights Ferrari's team orders

Sebastian Vettel stretched his championship lead over Lewis Hamilton to 25 points on Sunday after becoming the first Ferrari driver since Michael Schumacher in 2001 to win Formula One's showcase Monaco Grand Prix. Teammate Kimi Raikkonen, on pole for the first time in nine years, lost out in the pitstops but secured a Ferrari one-two with Hamilton finishing seventh for Mercedes after starting 13th. The German celebrated as jubilantly as his seven times champion compatriot would have done, whooping over the radio and beaming from the podium as mechanics sang the Italian national anthem. "It's obviously a great day for the team... great to get the points, great to get the win," said Vettel. As with Schumacher in his pomp there was also a distinct whiff of 'team orders', with Raikkonen pitting first and Vettel staying out for a further five laps in a move that worked in his favor. Vettel's 45th career win was the German's third in six races but there was plenty of sympathy for Raikkonen, who last won with Lotus in 2013. The Finn looked far from happy on the podium, staring fixedly ahead and taking gulps of the Champagne as Vettel sprayed his. "It's still second place but it doesn't feel awful good," he said. "It's how it goes sometimes." "I know how it feels, it's not a good feeling," reigning champion Nico Rosberg, who retired at the end of last year after years of battling Hamilton at Mercedes, consoled him as he conducted the post-race interviews on the finish straight. Australian Daniel Ricciardo took his second successive podium with third place for Red Bull. MINIMAL OVERTAKING In a race with plenty of sunshine and minimal overtaking, late crashes ensured the safety car made its traditional Monaco appearance. While Raikkonen led for the first 34 laps, the writing was on the wall at the pitstops with a consensus emerging already before the start that Ferrari would favor the championship leader. "It was a very tense race. I knew that (staying out) was the chance to win and I was able to use that window and come out ahead. After that I was able to control the gap behind," said Vettel. What had been a processional race, with the wider new cars making overtaking more difficult, turned into sudden drama with a collision between Jenson Button's McLaren and Pascal Wehrlein's Sauber at the tunnel entrance.

In some Italian cities, even fast cars can no longer go fast

There’s so much to love about Italy: spaghetti carbonara, Ferraris, tiramisu, Michelangelo, high speed limitsÂ…. Wait. About those speed limits. In Bologna, a town with enormous character and exceptional cuisine, the city fathers only last month imposed a speed limit in the town of 30 kilometers per hour — about 20 mph — to make it safer and “more livable.” Critics of the measure are not contento. According to a recent story in The New York Times, drivers there argue that Bologna is “slowing to a standstill since it became the first major Italian city” to join a growing group of European municipalities that in the past few years have adjusted speed limits downward by half. The new rules, in place in Paris, Brussels, Copenhagen and cities across Spain, mark an effort to cut pollution, reduce energy use, and disincentivize car use. As reported by the Times, BolognaÂ’s mayor, Matteo Lepore, included the new speed limit among the campaign promises that helped to get him elected in 2021. Referring to the lower limit, he said, “Driving at 30 is part of a vision of a more democratic and more sustainable use of public space,” where neighborhoods put children and older people first, and investments favor bike paths and public transportation to work toward carbon neutrality. Adding fuel to the smolder, Bologna is the capital of a region that is home to Ferrari, Lamborghini and Pagani. The action in Italy has spurred protests, and petitions from some commuters that their daily travels to and from the city have grown substantially longer. And recently, the Times reported, a gathering attracted dozens of cranky citizens and cabbies to the streets, where they drove at a snailÂ’s pace in a makeshift parade, loudly honking horns and snarling traffic. The new speed limit “is impossible” to drive at, said Giorgio Gorza, who heads a citizenÂ’s group. “ItÂ’s like standing still, and no one takes a car if youÂ’re going to stay still, if it takes longer than walking. ItÂ’s illogical.” In 2021, according to the story, Olbia, in Sardinia, became the first Italian city to set a broad limit of 30 klicks an hour.