The German Grand Prix comes at a crucial time in the season.
Anchored by home driver Sebastien Vettel, Red Bull's recent renaissance has upped the pressure on Jenson Button's Brawn GP and the tide may be turning.
Neither driver will have it easy at the Nurburgring. It is one of those classic circuits where you can't predict what the weather will do.
The area's notoriously inconsistent weather patterns always influence teams' strategies.
When I won there in 1999 the weather was key. I had the right tyres at the right time and got the result.
Poor weather will suit Red Bull. When the heavens opened in China, Vettel and Webber claimed a one-two.
Red Bull have the best car in the wet, and the worrying thing for the other teams is that they have improved since then.
I expect them to be strong in the wet or dry.
Brawn GP seem to be better in warmer temperatures, where the tyres suffer less stress. While they are always quick on softs, they struggled on hard tyres at a cool Silverstone a fortnight ago.
Red Bull is working both sets well and they are making it hard for Button to tie up his maiden drivers' title.
Vettel is getting stronger with every round. As the chasing driver he has nothing to lose.
There was no early season pressure on Brawn, but Vettel is in Jenson's rear-view now, the gap is slimming and the pressure's firmly on.
Sadly, the gap between Brawn and Red Bull and the other teams is still considerable and Ferrari, BMW and McLaren shouldn't touch them in Germany.
Extreme conditions and luck are their only hope. They'll need a lot of luck to have any chance at all.
Kimi Raikkonen said he has no hope of a win. He's right.
It looks like Ferrari need to completely overhaul their car.
It's back to the drawing board mid-season. The Ferrari is just not competitive. Admittedly, they've been sporadic - excelling in Monaco - but they are not there at all this year.
The rumour mills are saying Ferrari might stop development on this year's car and start working on the 2010 model. Why not? They are out of the championship, have scored no wins and with none on the immediate horizon, they have lots of work to do.
Jacques Villeneuve wants to come back to F1 next year, saying he's alarmed by the lack of rivalry amongst the top drivers. While the domination of Red Bull and Brawn has led to a less competitive atmosphere amongst the other teams, I have to disagree with him. Rivalry is always there.
The sport needs characters. Jacques is one and it would be wonderful to see him back on the grid.
Teams will remember his poor final year at BMW, but he was uncomfortable, which permeated into his results. He needs motivation to perform.
I think expanding the field is a good thing, 26 cars on the grid makes it harder to get points. A mix of younger and experienced drivers will also improve competition.
Bernie Ecclestone could even implement a knock-out stage. It's an idea to add to the F1 circus, a spectacle fans continue to enjoy and love.
It's still unclear - like the Nurburgring weather - how many new teams there will be next year. What is clear is that this season is hotting up nicely.
@Email:sports@thenational.ae
Moon Music
Artist: Coldplay
Label: Parlophone/Atlantic
Number of tracks: 10
Rating: 3/5
Dubai works towards better air quality by 2021
Dubai is on a mission to record good air quality for 90 per cent of the year – up from 86 per cent annually today – by 2021.
The municipality plans to have seven mobile air-monitoring stations by 2020 to capture more accurate data in hourly and daily trends of pollution.
These will be on the Palm Jumeirah, Al Qusais, Muhaisnah, Rashidiyah, Al Wasl, Al Quoz and Dubai Investment Park.
“It will allow real-time responding for emergency cases,” said Khaldoon Al Daraji, first environment safety officer at the municipality.
“We’re in a good position except for the cases that are out of our hands, such as sandstorms.
“Sandstorms are our main concern because the UAE is just a receiver.
“The hotspots are Iran, Saudi Arabia and southern Iraq, but we’re working hard with the region to reduce the cycle of sandstorm generation.”
Mr Al Daraji said monitoring as it stood covered 47 per cent of Dubai.
There are 12 fixed stations in the emirate, but Dubai also receives information from monitors belonging to other entities.
“There are 25 stations in total,” Mr Al Daraji said.
“We added new technology and equipment used for the first time for the detection of heavy metals.
“A hundred parameters can be detected but we want to expand it to make sure that the data captured can allow a baseline study in some areas to ensure they are well positioned.”
Company%20Profile
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Company%20Profile
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The specs: 2018 Ducati SuperSport S
Price, base / as tested: Dh74,900 / Dh85,900
Engine: 937cc
Transmission: Six-speed gearbox
Power: 110hp @ 9,000rpm
Torque: 93Nm @ 6,500rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 5.9L / 100km
LA LIGA FIXTURES
Friday (UAE kick-off times)
Levante v Real Mallorca (12am)
Leganes v Barcelona (4pm)
Real Betis v Valencia (7pm)
Granada v Atletico Madrid (9.30pm)
Sunday
Real Madrid v Real Sociedad (12am)
Espanyol v Getafe (3pm)
Osasuna v Athletic Bilbao (5pm)
Eibar v Alaves (7pm)
Villarreal v Celta Vigo (9.30pm)
Monday
Real Valladolid v Sevilla (12am)
The biog
Name: Maitha Qambar
Age: 24
Emirate: Abu Dhabi
Education: Master’s Degree
Favourite hobby: Reading
She says: “Everyone has a purpose in life and everyone learns from their experiences”
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.
Joker: Folie a Deux
Starring: Joaquin Phoenix, Lady Gaga, Brendan Gleeson
Director: Todd Phillips
Rating: 2/5
SPECS
Engine: Two-litre four-cylinder turbo
Power: 235hp
Torque: 350Nm
Transmission: Nine-speed automatic
Price: From Dh167,500 ($45,000)
On sale: Now
Cricket World Cup League 2
UAE squad
Rahul Chopra (captain), Aayan Afzal Khan, Ali Naseer, Aryansh Sharma, Basil Hameed, Dhruv Parashar, Junaid Siddique, Muhammad Farooq, Muhammad Jawadullah, Muhammad Waseem, Omid Rahman, Rahul Bhatia, Tanish Suri, Vishnu Sukumaran, Vriitya Aravind
Fixtures
Friday, November 1 – Oman v UAE
Sunday, November 3 – UAE v Netherlands
Thursday, November 7 – UAE v Oman
Saturday, November 9 – Netherlands v UAE
The specs
Engine: 2.7-litre 4-cylinder Turbomax
Power: 310hp
Torque: 583Nm
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
Price: From Dh192,500
On sale: Now
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Almnssa
Started: August 2020
Founder: Areej Selmi
Based: Gaza
Sectors: Internet, e-commerce
Investments: Grants/private funding
Best Foreign Language Film nominees
Capernaum (Lebanon)
Cold War (Poland)
Never Look Away (Germany)
Roma (Mexico)
Shoplifters (Japan)
What are the GCSE grade equivalents?
- Grade 9 = above an A*
- Grade 8 = between grades A* and A
- Grade 7 = grade A
- Grade 6 = just above a grade B
- Grade 5 = between grades B and C
- Grade 4 = grade C
- Grade 3 = between grades D and E
- Grade 2 = between grades E and F
- Grade 1 = between grades F and G
Company Profile
Company name: Yeepeey
Started: Soft launch in November, 2020
Founders: Sagar Chandiramani, Jatin Sharma and Monish Chandiramani
Based: Dubai
Industry: E-grocery
Initial investment: $150,000
Future plan: Raise $1.5m and enter Saudi Arabia next year
The specs
Engine: 8.0-litre, quad-turbo 16-cylinder
Transmission: 7-speed auto
0-100kmh 2.3 seconds
0-200kmh 5.5 seconds
0-300kmh 11.6 seconds
Power: 1500hp
Torque: 1600Nm
Price: Dh13,400,000
On sale: now
World Cricket League Division 2
In Windhoek, Namibia - Top two teams qualify for the World Cup Qualifier in Zimbabwe, which starts on March 4.
UAE fixtures
Thursday February 8, v Kenya; Friday February 9, v Canada; Sunday February 11, v Nepal; Monday February 12, v Oman; Wednesday February 14, v Namibia; Thursday February 15, final