1 The first corner of any Formula One track is a focal point because that is where the grid will be charging when the race begins.
Both previous starts to the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix have been relatively clean, but Lewis Hamilton, who starts second today, ominously warned the pole-sitter Sebastian Vettel, to expect a rough ride into the first corner.
Talking about last year when they started in the same positions, Hamilton said: "I braked early and let him go. I don't plan to do that tomorrow."
Once the racing starts Turn 1 is unlikely to see overtaking simply because of the shortness of the straight and the fact it is a fast left-hander.
It does have some bite, as both Vettel and Fernando Alonso will testify to after their respective crashes in practice.
2 Turn 2 leading through to Turn 3 is one of the most demanding on the aerodynamic abilities of the cars as they make a sweeping and fast left to right. If a car is deficient technically it will be found out through there.
Heikki Kovalainen, the Team Lotus driver, gave away nearly a second of the four seconds he was losing to the top teams in qualifying through the first sector, with that corner being the primary problem.
"It is a difficult corner as you cannot see the line and the apex as you are going over a crest as you take it," the Finn said. "The cars with a lot of downforce can do it flat out. It is not quite flat in our car."
3 If any overtaking is to take place today, it will start on the long back straight. The DRS (Drag Reduction System) kicks in midway through the straight for drivers who are within a second of the car in front as they leave Turn 7, before the straight.
Jenson Button is not confident DRS will help completely today, saying: "Yesterday I was using the DRS doing Turn 7 to Turn 8 and still could not overtake anybody."
Overtaking has been done, though, in the past on the long run to Turn 8. Button was passed there by Kamui Kobayashi in 2009, while both Hamilton and Mark Webber executed overtakes last year with late-braking moves down the inside for the tight left-hander at the end of the straight.
4 Turn 11 is the end of the second DRS zone and will see lots of wheel-to-wheel action as drivers look to use their straight-line speed advantage for a second time.
The left-handed corner does not lend itself easily to passing as Alonso found last year when he tried unsuccessfully to pass Vitaly Petrov and slithered wide.
Tony Whitaker, who works in the sporting department at Yas Marina Circuit, having previously worked as chief driving instructor, told The National last year the best defence is for a driver to keep his rival left on the straight.
"If you are on the inside and off the racing line it is very difficult to complete the pass as you have to turn hard left, and you literally have to throw the car around the corner."
5 Turn 17 is deceptively fast. A flat right-hander brings the drivers into heavy braking, and following the two hard stops early in the lap after the long straights definitely is not what the brake pads need. It was here in 2009 that the first signs of Hamilton, the McLaren-Mercedes driver, having trouble with brake wear materialised. As he was leading the race, he began to repeatedly run wide. Eventually, he was forced to retire from the race.
The corner is part of the technical final sector, with 11 corners in all.
Romain Grosjean, the French racer who drove for Renault in practice on Friday, said the drivers will be worked hard through that particular part of the track during the 55-lap race today.
"It is all second-gear corners," he said.
"The third sector is quite tricky and it is very easy to lose time."
6 You could forgive Vettel for being biased, being the only man to have stepped on the top step of the podium at Yas Marina, but he really is fond of the place.
He spoke passionately about why he likes the track, and one thing that stood out to him was what comes on the exit of Turn 18. "It is not every circuit where you drive under a hotel," he said.
The straight under the Yas Hotel is low-speed, but the drivers look to get a wide exit out of it to find time for the final corners of the lap and to keep any cars behind.
gcaygill@thenational.ae
A State of Passion
Directors: Carol Mansour and Muna Khalidi
Stars: Dr Ghassan Abu-Sittah
Rating: 4/5
Europe’s rearming plan
- Suspend strict budget rules to allow member countries to step up defence spending
- Create new "instrument" providing €150 billion of loans to member countries for defence investment
- Use the existing EU budget to direct more funds towards defence-related investment
- Engage the bloc's European Investment Bank to drop limits on lending to defence firms
- Create a savings and investments union to help companies access capital
Banned items
Dubai Police has also issued a list of banned items at the ground on Sunday. These include:
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Political flags or banners
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Bikes, skateboards or scooters
Specs
Engine: Electric motor generating 54.2kWh (Cooper SE and Aceman SE), 64.6kW (Countryman All4 SE)
Power: 218hp (Cooper and Aceman), 313hp (Countryman)
Torque: 330Nm (Cooper and Aceman), 494Nm (Countryman)
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh158,000 (Cooper), Dh168,000 (Aceman), Dh132,000 (Countryman)
The specs
Engine: Direct injection 4-cylinder 1.4-litre
Power: 150hp
Torque: 250Nm
Price: From Dh139,000
On sale: Now
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
More from our neighbourhood series:
McLaren GT specs
Engine: 4-litre twin-turbo V8
Transmission: seven-speed
Power: 620bhp
Torque: 630Nm
Price: Dh875,000
On sale: now
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The years Ramadan fell in May
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.”
Greatest Royal Rumble results
John Cena pinned Triple H in a singles match
Cedric Alexander retained the WWE Cruiserweight title against Kalisto
Matt Hardy and Bray Wyatt win the Raw Tag Team titles against Cesaro and Sheamus
Jeff Hardy retained the United States title against Jinder Mahal
Bludgeon Brothers retain the SmackDown Tag Team titles against the Usos
Seth Rollins retains the Intercontinental title against The Miz, Finn Balor and Samoa Joe
AJ Styles remains WWE World Heavyweight champion after he and Shinsuke Nakamura are both counted out
The Undertaker beats Rusev in a casket match
Brock Lesnar retains the WWE Universal title against Roman Reigns in a steel cage match
Braun Strowman won the 50-man Royal Rumble by eliminating Big Cass last
The specs
Engine: 3-litre twin-turbo V6
Power: 400hp
Torque: 475Nm
Transmission: 9-speed automatic
Price: From Dh215,900
On sale: Now
Race card
1.45pm: Maiden Dh75,000 1,200m.
2.15pm: Maiden Dh75,000 1,200m.
2.45pm: Handicap Dh95,000 1,200m.
3.15pm: Handicap Dh120,000 1,400m.
3.45pm: Handicap Dh80,000 1,400m.
4.15pm: Handicap Dh90,000 1,800m.
4.45pm: Handicap Dh80,000 1,950m.
The National selections:
1.45pm: Galaxy Road – So Hi Speed
2.15pm: Majestic Thunder – Daltrey
2.45pm: Call To War – Taamol
3.15pm: Eqtiraan - Bochart
3.45pm: Kidd Malibu – Initial
4.15pm: Arroway – Arch Gold
4.35pm: Compliance - Muqaatil
match info
Maratha Arabians 138-2
C Lynn 91*, A Lyth 20, B Laughlin 1-15
Team Abu Dhabi 114-3
L Wright 40*, L Malinga 0-13, M McClenaghan 1-17
Maratha Arabians won by 24 runs
Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
Results
5pm: Al Maha Stables – Maiden (PA) Dh80,000 (Turf) 1,600m; Winner: Reem Baynounah, Fernando Jara (jockey), Mohamed Daggash (trainer)
5.30pm: Wathba Stallions Cup – Maiden (PA) Dh70,000 (T) 1,600m; Winner: AF Afham, Tadhg O’Shea, Ernst Oertel
6pm: Emirates Fillies Classic – Prestige (PA) Dh100,000 (T) 1,600m; Winner: Ghallieah, Sebastien Martino, Jean-Claude Pecout
6.30pm: Emirates Colts Classic – Prestige (PA) Dh100,000 (T) 1,600m; Winner: Yas Xmnsor, Saif Al Balushi, Khalifa Al Neyadi
7pm: The President’s Cup – Group 1 (PA) Dh2,500,000 (T) 2,200m; Winner: Somoud, Adrie de Vries, Jean de Roualle
7.30pm: The President’s Cup – Listed (TB) Dh380,000 (T) 1,400m; Winner: Haqeeqy, Dane O’Neill, John Hyde.
Stamp%20duty%20timeline
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Company%20profile
%3Cp%3ECompany%20name%3A%20Shipsy%3Cbr%3EYear%20of%20inception%3A%202015%3Cbr%3EFounders%3A%20Soham%20Chokshi%2C%20Dhruv%20Agrawal%2C%20Harsh%20Kumar%20and%20Himanshu%20Gupta%3Cbr%3EBased%3A%20India%2C%20UAE%20and%20Indonesia%3Cbr%3ESector%3A%20logistics%3Cbr%3ESize%3A%20more%20than%20350%20employees%3Cbr%3EFunding%20received%20so%20far%3A%20%2431%20million%20in%20series%20A%20and%20B%20rounds%3Cbr%3EInvestors%3A%20Info%20Edge%2C%20Sequoia%20Capital%E2%80%99s%20Surge%2C%20A91%20Partners%20and%20Z3%20Partners%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
