SUZUKA // Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel edged out teammate Mark Webber on Sunday to win the Japanese Grand Prix and move closer to the Formula One championship lead.
Vettel started from pole position at the Suzuka circuit and led for most of the race to defend his Japanese GP title and pressure driver's championship leader Webber. "It was an incredible day with qualifying in the morning and the win in the afternoon," Vettel said. "It seems like this track was drawn for us. I had a good start which is obviously the key."
Ferrari's Felipe Alonso finished third to remain in contention for the driver's title. With three races remaining, Webber leads the championship standings with 220 points, ahead of Vettel and Alonso with 206. Alonso is in second place because he has won more races this season. McLaren's title hopes took another blow as Jenson Button was fourth followed by teammate Lewis Hamilton, who experienced gearbox problems, despite making a change before the race.
The seven-time world champion Michael Schumacher finished sixth for Mercedes. Vettel crossed the finish line 0.9secs ahead of Webber and 2.7secs ahead of Alonso. The win is the German's third of the season after Valencia and Malaysia. The Japanese victory is also Red Bull's sixth win of the season and first since Webber claimed the Hungarian GP in August. For Webber, it marked the 19th podium finish of his F1 career.
The race got off to a chaotic start with four drivers - Renault's Vitaly Petrov, Ferrari's Felipe Massa, Nico Hulkenberg of Williams and Force India's Vitantonio Liuzzi - all going out before the first turn had been completed. Petrov swerved across the track and smashed into the retaining wall before the pack even arrived at the first turn. Massa tried to move up the inside of the pack and gain position at Turn 1, but he lost control on the grass and went out at the opening corner, taking Liuzzi with him.
Robert Kubica, who started from third on the grid and split Vettel and Webber off the start, went out on the second lap when he lost a wheel while in second position. That put the Red Bulls back into first and second. "It was a bit lucky for us when Robert had the wheel come off," Webber said. "It was virtually impossible for me to overtake Sebastian after that." The only time Vettel and Webber were not in the lead was when Button's pit strategy allowed him to lead from laps 25 to 38 as the world champion ran long on his hard tyres before changing to soft tyres.
Alonso, who won the previous two races in Singapore and Italy, said he knew it would be hard to challenge the Red Bulls. "It was a tough race and I didn't make a good start," Alonso said. "It was impossible to catch the Red Bulls in the first part of the race. I was able to close the gap a little bit later on but we knew coming here they would be tough to beat." The Virgin driver Lucas Di Grassi severely damaged his car when he lost control of during the warm-up lap and didn't start the race.
The next race is scheduled for October 24 in South Korea.
Drivers Points
1. Mark Webber (Australia) Red Bull 220
2. Fernando Alonso (Spain) Ferrari 206
3. Sebastian Vettel (Germany) Red Bull 206
4. Lewis Hamilton (Britain) McLaren 192
5. Jenson Button (Britain) McLaren 189
6. Felipe Massa (Brazil) Ferrari 128
7. Nico Rosberg (Germany) Mercedes GP 122
8. Robert Kubica (Poland) Renault 114
9. Michael Schumacher (Germany) Mercedes GP 54
10. Adrian Sutil (Germany) Force India 47
11. Rubens Barrichello (Brazil) Williams 41
12. Kamui Kobayashi (Japan) Sauber 27
13. Vitaly Petrov (Russia) Renault 19
14. Nico Huelkenberg (Germany) Williams 17
15. Vitantonio Liuzzi (Italy) Force India 13
16. Sebastien Buemi (Switzerland) Toro Rosso 8
17. Pedro de la Rosa (Spain) Sauber 6
18. Nick Heidfeld (Germany) Sauber 4
19. Jaime Alguersuari (Spain) Toro Rosso 3
20. Heikki Kovalainen (Finland) Lotus 0
21. Jarno Trulli (Italy) Lotus 0
22. Karun Chandhok (India) HRT 0
23. Lucas Di Grassi (Brazil) Virgin 0
24. Timo Glock (Germany) Virgin 0
25. Bruno Senna (Brazil) HRT 0
26. Sakon Yamamoto (Japan) HRT 0
27. Christian Klien (Austria) HRT 0
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.
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
If you go
Where to stay: Courtyard by Marriott Titusville Kennedy Space Centre has unparalleled views of the Indian River. Alligators can be spotted from hotel room balconies, as can several rocket launch sites. The hotel also boasts cool space-themed decor.
When to go: Florida is best experienced during the winter months, from November to May, before the humidity kicks in.
How to get there: Emirates currently flies from Dubai to Orlando five times a week.
More on Quran memorisation:
Disclaimer
Director: Alfonso Cuaron
Stars: Cate Blanchett, Kevin Kline, Lesley Manville
Rating: 4/5
Getting%20there
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Company%20Profile
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COMPANY PROFILE
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Total funding: Self funded
TCL INFO
Teams:
Punjabi Legends Owners: Inzamam-ul-Haq and Intizar-ul-Haq; Key player: Misbah-ul-Haq
Pakhtoons Owners: Habib Khan and Tajuddin Khan; Key player: Shahid Afridi
Maratha Arabians Owners: Sohail Khan, Ali Tumbi, Parvez Khan; Key player: Virender Sehwag
Bangla Tigers Owners: Shirajuddin Alam, Yasin Choudhary, Neelesh Bhatnager, Anis and Rizwan Sajan; Key player: TBC
Colombo Lions Owners: Sri Lanka Cricket; Key player: TBC
Kerala Kings Owners: Hussain Adam Ali and Shafi Ul Mulk; Key player: Eoin Morgan
Venue Sharjah Cricket Stadium
Format 10 overs per side, matches last for 90 minutes
Timeline October 25: Around 120 players to be entered into a draft, to be held in Dubai; December 21: Matches start; December 24: Finals
SPECS
Engine: Two-litre four-cylinder turbo
Power: 235hp
Torque: 350Nm
Transmission: Nine-speed automatic
Price: From Dh167,500 ($45,000)
On sale: Now
New Zealand squad
Tim Southee (capt), Trent Boult (games 4 and 5), Colin de Grandhomme, Lockie Ferguson (games 1-3), Martin Guptill, Scott Kuggeleijn, Daryl Mitchell, Colin Munro, Jimmy Neesham, Mitchell Santner, Tim Seifert, Ish Sodhi, Ross Taylor, Blair Tickner
Citadel: Honey Bunny first episode
Directors: Raj & DK
Stars: Varun Dhawan, Samantha Ruth Prabhu, Kashvi Majmundar, Kay Kay Menon
Rating: 4/5
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 SPECS
Engine: 3.5-litre V6
Transmission: six-speed manual
Power: 325bhp
Torque: 370Nm
Speed: 0-100km/h 3.9 seconds
Price: Dh230,000
On sale: now
From Zero
Artist: Linkin Park
Label: Warner Records
Number of tracks: 11
Rating: 4/5
Thank You for Banking with Us
Director: Laila Abbas
Starring: Yasmine Al Massri, Clara Khoury, Kamel El Basha, Ashraf Barhoum
Rating: 4/5
Kanguva
Director: Siva
Stars: Suriya, Bobby Deol, Disha Patani, Yogi Babu, Redin Kingsley
THE BIO
Favourite place to go to in the UAE: The desert sand dunes, just after some rain
Who inspires you: Anybody with new and smart ideas, challenging questions, an open mind and a positive attitude
Where would you like to retire: Most probably in my home country, Hungary, but with frequent returns to the UAE
Favorite book: A book by Transilvanian author, Albert Wass, entitled ‘Sword and Reap’ (Kard es Kasza) - not really known internationally
Favourite subjects in school: Mathematics and science
RACE CARD
4.30pm: Maiden Dh80,000 1,400m
5pm: Conditions Dh80,000 1,400m
5.30pm: Liwa Oasis Group 3 Dh300,000 1,400m
6pm: The President’s Cup Listed Dh380,000 1,400m
6.30pm: Arabian Triple Crown Group 2 Dh300,000 2,200m
7pm: Wathba Stallions Cup Handicap (30-60) Dh80,000 1,600m
7.30pm: Handicap (40-70) Dh80,000 1,600m.
Dhadak
Director: Shashank Khaitan
Starring: Janhvi Kapoor, Ishaan Khattar, Ashutosh Rana
Stars: 3
What are NFTs?
Are non-fungible tokens a currency, asset, or a licensing instrument? Arnab Das, global market strategist EMEA at Invesco, says they are mix of all of three.
You can buy, hold and use NFTs just like US dollars and Bitcoins. “They can appreciate in value and even produce cash flows.”
However, while money is fungible, NFTs are not. “One Bitcoin, dollar, euro or dirham is largely indistinguishable from the next. Nothing ties a dollar bill to a particular owner, for example. Nor does it tie you to to any goods, services or assets you bought with that currency. In contrast, NFTs confer specific ownership,” Mr Das says.
This makes NFTs closer to a piece of intellectual property such as a work of art or licence, as you can claim royalties or profit by exchanging it at a higher value later, Mr Das says. “They could provide a sustainable income stream.”
This income will depend on future demand and use, which makes NFTs difficult to value. “However, there is a credible use case for many forms of intellectual property, notably art, songs, videos,” Mr Das says.
