Seven days can be a long time in Formula One and it once again proved to be true for Lewis Hamilton.
Last Sunday you did not need to be a body language expect to know how despondent the triple world champion was after he had finished fourth and lost further ground to Sebastian Vettel in the drivers’ championship.
To have the fastest car in the field, and yet be 20 points behind in the standings, largely through no fault of his own, had demoralised the Briton to the extent that he was so miserable with television media that he later felt obliged to explain his right to be downhearted.
“When you personally don’t deliver and when things stack up against you, it’s hard to come out smiling,” he had said in Spielberg. “That would mean you don’t care enough. The fact is, I care.”
Fast forward seven days to this Sunday and the F1 world got to see the other end of the spectrum of Hamilton emotions as he crowd surfed with fans after winning the British Grand Prix for a record-equalling fifth time.
The victory at Silverstone, which was his fourth in a row at the Northampton track, as well as improving his mood, also blew open the championship on a day when Vettel endured his first real misfortune of the season.
With two laps to go of the race Hamilton had led, as he had done throughout the event, with Vettel fourth, and set to gain 13 points on the Ferrari driver.
But, then the twist came. Initially it looked as if it would be in Vettel’s favour as his teammate Kimi Raikkonen, who had been running second, slowed with a puncture, and pitted.
This moved Vettel upto third, behind Hamilton and the second Mercedes of Valtteri Bottas, who had charged through from ninth on the grid to highlight just how strong the German marque’s machine now is, and he was now set to lose only 10 points to his title rival.
But, he then suffered his own tyre deflation, and the time lost from returning to the pits, pitting, and returning to track dropped him to seventh, and his championship lead slashed to just a single point.
Hamilton was keen to dedicate his victory to his team, and after matching Jim Clark and Alain Prost’s record of five wins at the track, he said: “I was very, very fortunate, the team did an exceptional job this weekend.
“The car felt great and we were genuinely faultless.”
The race at Silverstone underlined that when Hamilton has a problem free weekend he and his Mercedes car are the fastest package in F1.
The depression in Austria arguably came from the fact that unreliability and mistakes within his own team were threatening to undo his title hopes, just as they did last year when he lost out to then teammate Nico Rosberg.
A lot of angst from Hamilton following the incident with Vettel in Azerbaijan last month, where the German pushed his car into his behind the safety car, came from the fact that he had actually lost ground to his rival despite the clash.
Vettel was penalised with a 10-second stop-go penalty, but Hamilton’s headrest became loose and he had to pit to have it reattached, and instead of winning the race and gaining 15 points on Vettel, he lost two as he finished fifth to the Ferrari man’s fourth.
Then in Austria, a gearbox change before the race weekend gave him a five-place grid penalty, and he finished fourth when his teammate Bottas won.
Vettel was second there, and two races that Hamilton would have expected to win instead ended up losing him eight points.
But, Hamilton had no issues all weekend at Silverstone, and after taking pole by more than half-a-second, he controlled the race.
Yes, Vettel was held up and lost a lot of ground in the first part of the race stuck behind the Red Bull Racing car of Max Verstappen in fourth spot for the first half of the race, before passing him in the pit-stops, but he would have been unlikely to fare much better than Raikkonen, who was almost 10 seconds behind in second by the time the pit stop window opened mid-race.
Given the raw speed of Mercedes, they have won three of the past four races, and six of 10 this season, further mechanical failures and bad luck does appear the only way for Hamilton to miss out on not leaving the Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, the final round of the season, in November as champion.
For Vettel and Ferrari, it is clear that relying on Mercedes problems will not be enough for them to win their respective championships and they need to find a step forward in performance in their car over the summer break, which comes after the Hungarian Grand Prix on July 30, if they are to turn the tide and find the form that saw them claim a 1-2 finish as recently as in May in Monaco.
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre V8 twin-turbocharged and three electric motors
Power: Combined output 920hp
Torque: 730Nm at 4,000-7,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed dual-clutch automatic
Fuel consumption: 11.2L/100km
On sale: Now, deliveries expected later in 2025
Price: expected to start at Dh1,432,000
Electric scooters: some rules to remember
- Riders must be 14-years-old or over
- Wear a protective helmet
- Park the electric scooter in designated parking lots (if any)
- Do not leave electric scooter in locations that obstruct traffic or pedestrians
- Solo riders only, no passengers allowed
- Do not drive outside designated lanes
The Ashes
Results
First Test, Brisbane: Australia won by 10 wickets
Second Test, Adelaide: Australia won by 120 runs
Third Test, Perth: Australia won by an innings and 41 runs
Fourth Test: Melbourne: Drawn
Fifth Test: Australia won by an innings and 123 runs
Stats at a glance:
Cost: 1.05 billion pounds (Dh 4.8 billion)
Number in service: 6
Complement 191 (space for up to 285)
Top speed: over 32 knots
Range: Over 7,000 nautical miles
Length 152.4 m
Displacement: 8,700 tonnes
Beam: 21.2 m
Draught: 7.4 m
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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More on animal trafficking
What is the Supreme Petroleum Council?
The Abu Dhabi Supreme Petroleum Council was established in 1988 and is the highest governing body in Abu Dhabi’s oil and gas industry. The council formulates, oversees and executes the emirate’s petroleum-related policies. It also approves the allocation of capital spending across state-owned Adnoc’s upstream, downstream and midstream operations and functions as the company’s board of directors. The SPC’s mandate is also required for auctioning oil and gas concessions in Abu Dhabi and for awarding blocks to international oil companies. The council is chaired by Sheikh Khalifa, the President and Ruler of Abu Dhabi while Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed, Abu Dhabi’s Crown Prince and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, is the vice chairman.
TOUR RESULTS AND FIXTURES
June 3: NZ Provincial Barbarians 7 Lions 13
June 7: Blues 22 Lions 16
June 10: Crusaders 3 Lions 12
June 13: Highlanders 23 Lions 22
June 17: Maori All Blacks 10 Lions 32
June 20: Chiefs 6 Lions 34
June 24: New Zealand 30 Lions 15
June 27: Hurricanes 31 Lions 31
July 1: New Zealand 21 Lions 24
July 8: New Zealand v Lions
Last 10 NBA champions
2017: Golden State bt Cleveland 4-1
2016: Cleveland bt Golden State 4-3
2015: Golden State bt Cleveland 4-2
2014: San Antonio bt Miami 4-1
2013: Miami bt San Antonio 4-3
2012: Miami bt Oklahoma City 4-1
2011: Dallas bt Miami 4-2
2010: Los Angeles Lakers bt Boston 4-3
2009: Los Angeles Lakers bt Orlando 4-1
2008: Boston bt Los Angeles Lakers 4-2
Guide to intelligent investing
Investing success often hinges on discipline and perspective. As markets fluctuate, remember these guiding principles:
- Stay invested: Time in the market, not timing the market, is critical to long-term gains.
- Rational thinking: Breathe and avoid emotional decision-making; let logic and planning guide your actions.
- Strategic patience: Understand why you’re investing and allow time for your strategies to unfold.
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RESULT
Fifth ODI, at Headingley
England 351/9
Pakistan 297
England win by 54 runs (win series 4-0)
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%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECreator%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ESteven%20Knight%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStars%3A%C2%A0%3C%2Fstrong%3EMark%20Ruffalo%2C%20Hugh%20Laurie%2C%20Aria%20Mia%20Loberti%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E1%2F5%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The biog
Name: Atheja Ali Busaibah
Date of birth: 15 November, 1951
Favourite books: Ihsan Abdel Quddous books, such as “The Sun will Never Set”
Hobbies: Reading and writing poetry
How it works
Booklava works on a subscription model. On signing up you receive a free book as part of a 30-day-trial period, after which you pay US$9.99 (Dh36.70) per month to gain access to a library of books and discounts of up to 30 per cent on selected titles. You can cancel your subscription at any time. For more details go to www.booklava.com
The lowdown
Badla
Rating: 2.5/5
Produced by: Red Chillies, Azure Entertainment
Director: Sujoy Ghosh
Cast: Amitabh Bachchan, Taapsee Pannu, Amrita Singh, Tony Luke
Tonight's Chat on The National
Tonight's Chat is a series of online conversations on The National. The series features a diverse range of celebrities, politicians and business leaders from around the Arab world.
Tonight’s Chat host Ricardo Karam is a renowned author and broadcaster who has previously interviewed Bill Gates, Carlos Ghosn, Andre Agassi and the late Zaha Hadid, among others.
Intellectually curious and thought-provoking, Tonight’s Chat moves the conversation forward.
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The Intruder
Director: Deon Taylor
Starring: Dennis Quaid, Michael Ealy, Meagan Good
One star
