A disappointed Felipe Massa looked like he was hunting for any crumb of comfort in Shanghai when he said in the post-race press conference following the Chinese Grand Prix on Sunday: "It was not so fantastic but for the constructors' it is very good. It is very important to fight for the constructors' and it was good thinking of that."
The Brazilian had just seen his championship hopes take a major dent as he was well beaten by championship leader Lewis Hamilton, who in his McLaren was the class of the field as he won his fifth race of the season.
The Ferrari driver will go to the final round in Brazil seven points behind Hamilton, knowing he will need a major mechanical problem to hit his rival if he is to realistically be the champion.
It did look as if he was grasping at straws stating he was pleased that his second place and Kimi Raikkonen's third had boosted Ferrari's hopes of winning the constructors' title for an eighth time in the last 10 years.
Eight points at Interlagos will seal that crown and the Italian team probably deserve it over the course of the year as a reward for arguably having the strongest drivers pairing on the grid at present.
Massa has raised his game this season and has been a worthy contender for the championship, while the world champion Kimi Raikkonen may have ultimately had a disappointing defence of his title, but his pace has been strong in patches and without bad luck he would have won more than just two races.
Ferrari have an 11-point gap over McLaren and ultimately the British team are trailing because of Heikki Kovalainen's disappointing year.
Yes, the Finn has had reliability problems, but since a strong showing in qualifying in Turkey when he was second despite being heavy with fuel he has tailed off badly and has rarely pushed his team leader Hamilton in the latter half of the season.
He inherited his maiden win in Hungary in August only thanks to problems for Massa and Hamilton, and his poor form was summed up in China.
While Massa had the help of Raikkonen any chance Hamilton had of assistance from his teammate were ended after Kovalainen blew his last qualifying lap and could only line up fifth on the grid.
McLaren would have wanted Kovalainen to have started ahead of Massa and help protect Hamilton from Ferrari pressure.
But in the race he was nowhere after being overtaken by the Renault of Fernando Alonso on the first lap and Hamilton had to rely on his pace to defeat his rivals, gaining only two points on Massa on a day when Ferrari had under-performed.
Kovalainen will have to improve his performances if he is to remain in the good books of his McLaren bosses.
With talented drivers like Sebastian Vettel, Nico Rosberg and Adrian Sutil all looking to make a move to a top team, the man from Suomussalmi is going to be under scrutiny in the early races of next season.
He can put an early marker down with a strong showing in Brazil on Nov 2 to help Hamilton win the championship.
gcaygill@thenational.ae
SPECS
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'Downton Abbey: A New Era'
Director: Simon Curtis
Cast: Hugh Bonneville, Elizabeth McGovern, Maggie Smith, Michelle Dockery, Laura Carmichael, Jim Carter and Phyllis Logan
Rating: 4/5
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Farasan Boat: 128km Away from Anchorage
Director: Mowaffaq Alobaid
Stars: Abdulaziz Almadhi, Mohammed Al Akkasi, Ali Al Suhaibani
Rating: 4/5
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Most wanted allegations
- Benjamin Macann, 32: involvement in cocaine smuggling gang.
- Jack Mayle, 30: sold drugs from a phone line called the Flavour Quest.
- Callum Halpin, 27: over the 2018 murder of a rival drug dealer.
- Asim Naveed, 29: accused of being the leader of a gang that imported cocaine.
- Calvin Parris, 32: accused of buying cocaine from Naveed and selling it on.
- John James Jones, 31: allegedly stabbed two people causing serious injuries.
- Callum Michael Allan, 23: alleged drug dealing and assaulting an emergency worker.
- Dean Garforth, 29: part of a crime gang that sold drugs and guns.
- Joshua Dillon Hendry, 30: accused of trafficking heroin and crack cocain.
- Mark Francis Roberts, 28: grievous bodily harm after a bungled attempt to steal a £60,000 watch.
- James ‘Jamie’ Stevenson, 56: for arson and over the seizure of a tonne of cocaine.
- Nana Oppong, 41: shot a man eight times in a suspected gangland reprisal attack.
UAE rugby season
FIXTURES
West Asia Premiership
Dubai Hurricanes v Dubai Knights Eagles
Dubai Tigers v Bahrain
Jebel Ali Dragons v Abu Dhabi Harlequins
UAE Division 1
Dubai Sharks v Dubai Hurricanes II
Al Ain Amblers v Dubai Knights Eagles II
Dubai Tigers II v Abu Dhabi Saracens
Jebel Ali Dragons II v Abu Dhabi Harlequins II
Sharjah Wanderers v Dubai Exiles II
LAST SEASON
West Asia Premiership
Winners – Bahrain
Runners-up – Dubai Exiles
UAE Premiership
Winners – Abu Dhabi Harlequins
Runners-up – Jebel Ali Dragons
Dubai Rugby Sevens
Winners – Dubai Hurricanes
Runners-up – Abu Dhabi Harlequins
UAE Conference
Winners – Dubai Tigers
Runners-up – Al Ain Amblers
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
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COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Almnssa
Started: August 2020
Founder: Areej Selmi
Based: Gaza
Sectors: Internet, e-commerce
Investments: Grants/private funding
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How to donate
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The specs
Engine: 1.5-litre 4-cylinder petrol
Power: 154bhp
Torque: 250Nm
Transmission: 7-speed automatic with 8-speed sports option
Price: From Dh79,600
On sale: Now
Visit Abu Dhabi culinary team's top Emirati restaurants in Abu Dhabi
Yadoo’s House Restaurant & Cafe
For the karak and Yoodo's house platter with includes eggs, balaleet, khamir and chebab bread.
Golden Dallah
For the cappuccino, luqaimat and aseeda.
Al Mrzab Restaurant
For the shrimp murabian and Kuwaiti options including Kuwaiti machboos with kebab and spicy sauce.
Al Derwaza
For the fish hubul, regag bread, biryani and special seafood soup.
Oppenheimer
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COMPANY PROFILE
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Total funding: Self funded
Company%20Profile
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Slow loris biog
From: Lonely Loris is a Sunda slow loris, one of nine species of the animal native to Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Singapore
Status: Critically endangered, and listed as vulnerable on the International Union for Conservation of Nature red list due to growing demand in the global exotic pet trade. It is one of the most popular primate species found at Indonesian pet markets
Likes: Sleeping, which they do for up to 18 hours a day. When they are awake, they like to eat fruit, insects, small birds and reptiles and some types of vegetation
Dislikes: Sunlight. Being a nocturnal animal, the slow loris wakes around sunset and is active throughout the night
Superpowers: His dangerous elbows. The slow loris’s doe eyes may make it look cute, but it is also deadly. The only known venomous primate, it hisses and clasps its paws and can produce a venom from its elbow that can cause anaphylactic shock and even death in humans
ENGLAND SQUAD
Joe Root (captain), Dom Sibley, Rory Burns, Dan Lawrence, Ben Stokes, Ollie Pope, Ben Foakes (wicketkeeper), Moeen Ali, Olly Stone, Chris Woakes, Jack Leach, Stuart Broad
The specs
Engine: 3-litre twin-turbo V6
Power: 400hp
Torque: 475Nm
Transmission: 9-speed automatic
Price: From Dh215,900
On sale: Now
Business Insights
- Canada and Mexico are significant energy suppliers to the US, providing the majority of oil and natural gas imports
- The introduction of tariffs could hinder the US's clean energy initiatives by raising input costs for materials like nickel
- US domestic suppliers might benefit from higher prices, but overall oil consumption is expected to decrease due to elevated costs
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Call of Duty: Black Ops 6
Developer: Treyarch, Raven Software
Publisher: Activision
Console: PlayStation 4 & 5, Windows, Xbox One & Series X/S
Rating: 3.5/5
