Jenson Button showed exactly why he is the world champion when he turned in a racing masterclass to win a drama-packed Australian Grand Prix yesterday.
And he admitted his victory at Melbourne's Albert Park had come earlier than expected with his new McLaren-Mercedes team and a car that was not thought capable of challenging the pace of Red Bull and Ferrari.
"I thought it would take longer than this," said a delighted Button. "A lot depends on what sort of car you come out of the box with.
"I don't know in general pace where we would stand but that is not all racing is about. It is also about strategy, thinking and conserving. We did it correctly today and we came away with a good victory. This is very special and whatever happens over the next few races, this means a lot to me."
The world champion's tactical decision to be the first driver to switch to slick tyres proved inspirational. Button, 30, was running in seventh in damp conditions in the early laps with the whole field scrabbling for grip on their intermediate tyres because of a brief shower before the race.
But things changed dramatically for Button as he told his team he was coming in for slicks, even though he had doubts about the wisdom of his bold decision.
"There was a dry line but a few places were wet," he said. "When I went into pits I thought it was a catastrophic decision as it was wet in the pitlane but once I got up to speed it was pretty good. I was able to put in some laps and overtake a few cars. It was the right call - I'm very happy to have made it."
Button skated off at turn three on his out-lap, but survived the scare on cold tyres and once he was up to racing speed he was able to exploit the developing racing line and when the rest of the field pitted he moved up to third, before out-braking Robert Kubica's Renault to take second on lap nine.
Button could do little about the Red Bull-Renault of Sebastian Vettel though. The German had led from the start and despite staying out too long before changing to dry tyres he held on to his lead.
He had been desperate to back up Red Bull's qualifying domination with a race win, but, as in Bahrain, was denied by technical problems. At the season opener it had been a spark plug issue, here it was a brake problem which caused the Red Bull to spin off on lap 26.
Vettel said: "There was nothing I could have done and I lost the car. It's a shame - I think we had the race under control even though the conditions were difficult."
Having made his own luck with his early tyre stop, Button enjoyed his slice of fortune as he inherited a lead that he would hold until the end. On pure pace he was not the fastest man, but tactics and smart driving saw him finish first for the eighth time in his career.
Second place went to Kubica, who drove superbly early on to make up positions from ninth on the grid. The Ferraris were third and fourth. Felipe Massa ran at the front all afternoon, but was unable to pass Kubica, while Fernando Alonso recovered from a first -corner spin to get enough points to retain the championship lead from his teammate.
The other drama on the first lap came when Kamui Kobayashi's BMW Sauber tagged the back of Sebastien Buemi's Toro Rosso. He lost downforce as his front wing broke off and ploughed into Nico Hulkenberg's Williams-Toyota. The incident eliminated all three.
@Email:gcaygill@thenational.ae
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Nayanthara: Beyond The Fairy Tale
Starring: Nayanthara, Vignesh Shivan, Radhika Sarathkumar, Nagarjuna Akkineni
Director: Amith Krishnan
Rating: 3.5/5
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Gully Boy
Director: Zoya Akhtar
Producer: Excel Entertainment & Tiger Baby
Cast: Ranveer Singh, Alia Bhatt, Kalki Koechlin, Siddhant Chaturvedi
Rating: 4/5 stars
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Qyubic
Started: October 2023
Founder: Namrata Raina
Based: Dubai
Sector: E-commerce
Current number of staff: 10
Investment stage: Pre-seed
Initial investment: Undisclosed
SPECS
Engine: 4-litre V8 twin-turbo
Power: 630hp
Torque: 850Nm
Transmission: 8-speed Tiptronic automatic
Price: From Dh599,000
On sale: Now
%E2%80%98FSO%20Safer%E2%80%99%20-%20a%20ticking%20bomb
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Company%20profile
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Wicked
Director: Jon M Chu
Stars: Cynthia Erivo, Ariana Grande, Jonathan Bailey
How to protect yourself when air quality drops
Install an air filter in your home.
Close your windows and turn on the AC.
Shower or bath after being outside.
Wear a face mask.
Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.
If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.
Tailors and retailers miss out on back-to-school rush
Tailors and retailers across the city said it was an ominous start to what is usually a busy season for sales.
With many parents opting to continue home learning for their children, the usual rush to buy school uniforms was muted this year.
“So far we have taken about 70 to 80 orders for items like shirts and trousers,” said Vikram Attrai, manager at Stallion Bespoke Tailors in Dubai.
“Last year in the same period we had about 200 orders and lots of demand.
“We custom fit uniform pieces and use materials such as cotton, wool and cashmere.
“Depending on size, a white shirt with logo is priced at about Dh100 to Dh150 and shorts, trousers, skirts and dresses cost between Dh150 to Dh250 a piece.”
A spokesman for Threads, a uniform shop based in Times Square Centre Dubai, said customer footfall had slowed down dramatically over the past few months.
“Now parents have the option to keep children doing online learning they don’t need uniforms so it has quietened down.”
Liverpool 4-1 Shrewsbury
Liverpool
Gordon (34'), Fabinho (44' pen, 90' 3), Firmino (78')
Shrewsbury
Udoh (27'minutes)
Man of the Match: Kaide Gordon (Liverpool)
Electoral College Victory
Trump has so far secured 295 Electoral College votes, according to the Associated Press, exceeding the 270 needed to win. Only Nevada and Arizona remain to be called, and both swing states are leaning Republican. Trump swept all five remaining swing states, North Carolina, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin, sealing his path to victory and giving him a strong mandate.
Popular Vote Tally
The count is ongoing, but Trump currently leads with nearly 51 per cent of the popular vote to Harris’s 47.6 per cent. Trump has over 72.2 million votes, while Harris trails with approximately 67.4 million.
From Zero
Artist: Linkin Park
Label: Warner Records
Number of tracks: 11
Rating: 4/5
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Almnssa
Started: August 2020
Founder: Areej Selmi
Based: Gaza
Sectors: Internet, e-commerce
Investments: Grants/private funding
Company%20Profile
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The years Ramadan fell in May
THE SPECS
Engine: 6.0-litre, twin-turbocharged W12
Transmission: eight-speed automatic
Power: 626bhp
Torque: 900Nm
Price: Dh1,050,000
On sale: now
Scoreline:
Cardiff City 0
Liverpool 2
Wijnaldum 57', Milner 81' (pen)
Disclaimer
Director: Alfonso Cuaron
Stars: Cate Blanchett, Kevin Kline, Lesley Manville
Rating: 4/5
A%20QUIET%20PLACE
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COMPANY%20PROFILE%20
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COMPANY PROFILE
Name: HyperSpace
Started: 2020
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Entertainment
Number of staff: 210
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners
The Bio
Favourite Emirati dish: I have so many because it has a lot of herbs and vegetables. Harees (oats with chicken) is one of them
Favourite place to go to: Dubai Mall because it has lots of sports shops.
Her motivation: My performance because I know that whatever I do, if I put the effort in, I’ll get results
During her free time: I like to drink coffee - a latte no sugar and no flavours. I do not like cold drinks
Pet peeve: That with every meal they give you a fries and Pepsi. That is so unhealthy
Advice to anyone who wants to be an ironman: Go for the goal. If you are consistent, you will get there. With the first one, it might not be what they want but they should start and just do it
Singham Again
Director: Rohit Shetty
Stars: Ajay Devgn, Kareena Kapoor Khan, Ranveer Singh, Akshay Kumar, Tiger Shroff, Deepika Padukone
Rating: 3/5
F1 line ups in 2018
Mercedes-GP Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas; Ferrari Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen; Red Bull Daniel Ricciardo and Max Verstappen; Force India Esteban Ocon and Sergio Perez; Renault Nico Hülkenberg and Carlos Sainz Jr; Williams Lance Stroll and Felipe Massa / Robert Kubica / Paul di Resta; McLaren Fernando Alonso and Stoffel Vandoorne; Toro Rosso TBA; Haas F1 Romain Grosjean and Kevin Magnussen; Sauber TBA
