The 2024 Formula One season is nearly upon us and it is set to be an epic campaign in more ways than one.
With 24 races in the calendar, this is going to be the longest season in F1 history. And it begins in Bahrain on Saturday, with the finale in Abu Dhabi in December.
As has been the case over the past few seasons, the main talking point this time will also be whether anyone can challenge the supremacy of Red Bull and triple world champion Max Verstappen.
Red Bull dominated last year, winning 21 of the 22 races, Verstappen clinching 19 of them. And the chances of them continuing their dominance are high after encouraging pre-season testing and stable, unchanged regulations.
The only cause for concern will be off the track, with long-serving team boss Christian Horner facing allegations by an employee about his conduct and awaiting news of his future at the team.
There were big developments further down the grid, with seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton going into his last season with Mercedes ahead of joining Ferrari next year. The 39-year-old hopes Ferrari will provide him with a competitive car, something that Mercedes have been unable to do for the past two years.
There are a few other changes as well. China returns to the F1 roster for the first time since 2019, while Italy's iconic Imola track is back after last year's race was cancelled due to flooding.
Surprisingly, there are no rookie drivers and no changes to line-ups since the season finale in Abu Dhabi last year.
What has also not changed is the incredible salaries of the top drivers. F1 is an extremely expensive sport with budgets of top teams running into hundreds of millions of dollars, and the financial returns for winning equally substantial. Only the best make the cut in the ultra-competitive, technology heavy world of F1 and the best drivers get paid accordingly.
Below is the list of the highest-paid drivers on the grid for 2024, according to spotrac.com and racingnews365.com.
F1 driver salaries for 2024
1. Max Verstappen (Red Bull): $55 million
2. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes): $45 million
3. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari): $34 million
4. Lando Norris (McLaren): $20 million
5. George Russell (Mercedes): $18 million
=5. Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin): $18 million
7. Sergio Perez (Red Bull): $14 million
8. Carlos Sainz (Ferrari): $12 million
9. Valtteri Bottas (Kick Sauber): $10 million
10. Daniel Ricciardo (Visa Cash App RB): $7 million
11. Esteban Ocon (Alpine): $6 million
=11. Pierre Gasly (Alpine): $6 million
=11. Oscar Piastri (McLaren): $6 million
14. Kevin Magnussen (Haas): $5 million
15. Alex Albon (Williams): $3 million
=15. Lance Stroll (Aston Martin): $3 million
17. Nico Hulkenberg (Haas): $2 million
=17. Guanyu Zhou (Kick Sauber): $2 million
19. Yuki Tsunoda (Visa Cash App RB): $1 million
=19. Logan Sargeant (Williams): $1 million
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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MATCH INFO
Champions League quarter-final, first leg
Ajax v Juventus, Wednesday, 11pm (UAE)
Match on BeIN Sports
Episode list:
Ep1: A recovery like no other- the unevenness of the economic recovery
Ep2: PCR and jobs - the future of work - new trends and challenges
Ep3: The recovery and global trade disruptions - globalisation post-pandemic
Ep4: Inflation- services and goods - debt risks
Ep5: Travel and tourism
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.”
MATCH INFO
Manchester City 4 (Gundogan 8' (P), Bernardo Silva 19', Jesus 72', 75')
Fulham 0
Red cards: Tim Ream (Fulham)
Man of the Match: Gabriel Jesus (Manchester City)
Race card:
6.30pm: Maiden; Dh165,000; 2,000m
7.05pm: Handicap; Dh165,000; 2,200m
7.40pm: Conditions; Dh240,000; 1,600m
8.15pm: Handicap; Dh190,000; 2,000m
8.50pm: The Garhoud Sprint Listed; Dh265,000; 1,200m
9.25pm: Handicap; Dh170,000; 1,600m
10pm: Handicap; Dh190,000; 1,400m
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AI traffic lights to ease congestion at seven points to Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Street
The seven points are:
Shakhbout bin Sultan Street
Dhafeer Street
Hadbat Al Ghubainah Street (outbound)
Salama bint Butti Street
Al Dhafra Street
Rabdan Street
Umm Yifina Street exit (inbound)
