Toto Wolff, the Mercedes-GP motorsport executive director, says he believes Formula One’s minnows can be saved from going out of business if they accept a range of proposals due to be aired at a meeting next month.
Earlier this year F1’s Strategy Group – comprising Ferrari, McLaren-Mercedes, Mercedes, Red Bull Racing, Williams and Lotus – agreed to implement a cost cap, only to perform a U-turn to the fury of the smaller teams.
It resulted in Force India, Sauber, Caterham and Marussia writing a strongly-worded letter to FIA president Jean Todt suggesting a “financial disaster” lay in wait for the sport unless urgent controls were imposed to curb spiralling costs.
Todt, F1 commercial rights owner Bernie Ecclestone and the teams will now sit down on May 1 to thrash out a way forward that will hopefully satisfy all concerned.
Wolff, who was initially in favour of a cost cap only to revise his opinion, feels there are other solutions to addressing the issue of growing financial problems on the grid.
“We realised some of the other big teams could not follow that path [of a cost cap],” Wolff said.
“Ferrari are a good example as they have everything – the road car business and F1 – in one entity, and it’s difficult for them to have everything screened.
“It doesn’t make sense to go against two or three of the big teams, so going through the sporting and technical regulations is the way.
“We’re working to find the best solution. We’re getting together in a few days, and we will try to implement what we can.
“What we are looking for is a ceiling, so we are not running away in a spending war with the other teams, and for a glide path downwards so we can reduce the gap between the larger and smaller teams.”
Red Bull team principal Christian Horner, who has long been against a cost cap, insists the bigger teams will do all they can to look after the smaller marques.
“At the end of the day we have to have somebody to race against,” Horner said.
“The purpose and formation of the Strategy Group means there are teams in there who are in the same situation as Force India for example, or worse.
“You’ve got Lotus, whose situation has been fairly dire for the last couple of years, and Williams, who are run on a tight budget.
“They have key representation in the Strategy Group, so gauging their opinion is fairly important, so there is a balanced view in that discussion.
“For me, the most effective way of controlling costs is through the sporting regulations because that has the biggest impact on your cost drivers.
“If, as a group, we focus on those elements then we can really save significant costs for all the teams, the little and big teams.”
There are currently 11 teams in F1, with Hispania Racing Team, who folded before the start of the 2013 season, the last F1 team to disappear from the grid.
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The specs
Engine: 6.2-litre V8
Transmission: seven-speed auto
Power: 420 bhp
Torque: 624Nm
Price: from Dh293,200
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Tottenham's 10 biggest transfers (according to transfermarkt.com):
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2). Roberto Soldado - Valencia - £25m: Flop
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4). Son Heung-min - Bayer Leverkusen - £25m: Success
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7). David Bentley - Blackburn Rovers - £18m: Flop
8). Luka Modric - Dynamo Zagreb - £17m: Success
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UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
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Farasan Boat: 128km Away from Anchorage
Director: Mowaffaq Alobaid
Stars: Abdulaziz Almadhi, Mohammed Al Akkasi, Ali Al Suhaibani
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City's slump
L - Juventus, 2-0
D - C Palace, 2-2
W - N Forest, 3-0
L - Liverpool, 2-0
D - Feyenoord, 3-3
L - Tottenham, 4-0
L - Brighton, 2-1
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L - Tottenham, 2-1
SPECS
If you go
The biog
Favourite films: Casablanca and Lawrence of Arabia
Favourite books: Start with Why by Simon Sinek and Good to be Great by Jim Collins
Favourite dish: Grilled fish
Inspiration: Sheikh Zayed's visionary leadership taught me to embrace new challenges.
The specs: 2018 Harley-Davidson Fat Boy
Price, base / as tested Dh97,600
Engine 1,745cc Milwaukee-Eight v-twin engine
Transmission Six-speed gearbox
Power 78hp @ 5,250rpm
Torque 145Nm @ 3,000rpm
Fuel economy, combined 5.0L / 100km (estimate)
The specs
Engine: 1.5-litre turbo
Power: 181hp
Torque: 230Nm
Transmission: 6-speed automatic
Starting price: Dh79,000
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Kareem Shaheen on Canada
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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.”
Ticket prices
- Golden circle - Dh995
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- Lower Bowl Platinum - Dh95
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- Lower Bowl Standard- Dh595
- Upper Bowl Premium - Dh395
- Upper Bowl standard - Dh295
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Nayanthara: Beyond The Fairy Tale
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Call of Duty: Black Ops 6
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Console: PlayStation 4 & 5, Windows, Xbox One & Series X/S
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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Mina Al Oraibi: Air strike casts a long shadow over the decade ahead
Matthew Levitt: Iran retains its ability to launch terror attacks
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Simon Waldman: Cautious Israel keeping a low profile
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
National Editorial: Suleimani has been killed, now we must de-escalate
Mina Al Oraibi: Air strike casts a long shadow over the decade ahead
Jack Moore: Why the assassination is such a monumental gamble
Damien McElroy: A CEO tasked with spreading Iran's influence
Hussein Ibish: Trump's order on solid constitutional ground
Simon Waldman: Cautious Israel keeping a low profile
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Mina Al Oraibi: Air strike casts a long shadow over the decade ahead
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Business Insights
- Canada and Mexico are significant energy suppliers to the US, providing the majority of oil and natural gas imports
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