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Barrichello makes his experience count with sixth

Graham Caygill

September 26, 2010

Heidfeld frustrated with only 15th on his return to series Gary Meenaghan SINGAPORE // With 17 uninterrupted years of experience driving in Formula One, Rubens Barrichello, Williams-Cosworth's Brazilian driver, proved under the floodlights of Singapore's Marina Bay Street Circuit yesterday evening that maintaining a permanent presence in the paddock can be invaluable. Nick Heidfeld was taking part in his first qualifying session since the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix 10 months ago, after being called upon last week to replace Pedro de la Rosa, who had endured an ineffective season at BMW-Sauber-Ferrari and was dropped after the Italian Grand Prix.

However, despite the 33-year-old saying beforehand that he was itching to get back behind the wheel, Heidfeld struggled to get the best out of his car, eventually ending qualifying in 15th position. Likewise, Michael Schumacher, returning this season with Mercedes GP following a three-year absence, has failed to produce anything close to the type of performances that saw him win seven world championship titles.

Yet Barrichello, taking part in his 302nd grand prix tonight, finished sixth yesterday in a car perceived by many as inferior to Renault and Mercedes. Most tellingly, however, is that each of the five drivers faster around the 5.793km track is firmly embroiled in the fight for this year's championship. "I'm pleased to put a good lap in and to finish top six is a dream," said the 38-year-old. "At the end of the day, I have nothing to prove to Formula One having been here for so long. All I can say is my motivation is intact and my will to win is intact.

"You have to be modest in this life: I mean, I could be angry finishing sixth, but I am actually very happy. "And I know the team deserves a lot better and we will get there." Heidfeld was seen throwing his helmet at the pitlane wall following his failure to progress to Q3 and he admitted being frustrated with his return. "I am not completely happy," said the German, who finished almost five places behind teammate Kamui Kobayashi. "I hoped for more and I think I didn't get the most out of the car. But perhaps this wasn't realistic considering the fact I only drove this car [on Friday] for the very first time with these tyres."

Peter Sauber, Heidfeld's team principal, was understanding of his new recruit's displeasure, but chose instead to focus on Kobayashi's impressive performance. "Nick's result is OK, [but] 10th for Kamui was a surprise for all of us; a great result. "This was the 'overture' to Kamui's home race in Japan in two weeks time." Kobayashi said he achieved the ultimate result possible given the car. "I wasn't happy with the car in free practice," he said. "But the team did a great job in improving it, so in qualifying it was good and I think my result is the best we could achieve."

The specs

Engine: Dual 180kW and 300kW front and rear motors

Power: 480kW

Torque: 850Nm

Transmission: Single-speed automatic

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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: 2018 Nissan Patrol Nismo

Price: base / as tested: Dh382,000

Engine: 5.6-litre V8

Gearbox: Seven-speed automatic

Power: 428hp @ 5,800rpm

Torque: 560Nm @ 3,600rpm

Fuel economy, combined: 12.7L / 100km

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