Nico Hulkenberg at Amber Lounge F1 party in Abu Dhabi. Courtesy Amber Lounge
Nico Hulkenberg at Amber Lounge F1 party in Abu Dhabi. Courtesy Amber Lounge
Nico Hulkenberg at Amber Lounge F1 party in Abu Dhabi. Courtesy Amber Lounge
Nico Hulkenberg at Amber Lounge F1 party in Abu Dhabi. Courtesy Amber Lounge

Celebrity round-up: Ludacris, Lewis Hamilton, Lindsay Lohan and others party hard at F1 weekend


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On Sunday, the last night of the F1 weekend, stars and socialites came out to play and some of their most picture-perfect moments were caught on social ­media.

After losing the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix to Nico Rosberg, Lewis Hamilton chose to spend the evening partying at 1OAK at the Yas Viceroy – he was caught on camera dancing merrily on stage. Whereas other partygoers were keen to let their hair down, Hamilton kept on the baseball cap he seems to have had fixed to his head during the entire Abu Dhabi trip (except when wearing his racing helmet). We wonder what shade of hair he’s hiding under that cap?

Hamilton was accompanied by Richie Akiva. The nightlife entrepreneur was rumoured this year to have been dating ­Rihanna, who has also been ­romantically linked to Hamilton.

Hamilton wrote: “Celebrating my world championship victory tonight at #1OAK at @YasViceroy with Richie Akiva #AbuDhabiGP #TeamLH.”

Furious 7 star and rapper Ludacris posted a picture of himself with Hamilton and his pals last night, with the message: "We've already made 2 days feel like a week. #abudhabi."

Ludacris had all the ingredients for a perfect Abu Dhabi holiday – humour, provided by his travelling companion, American comedian Kevin Hart; wild stunts courtesy of his racing-driver pal Marco Andretti; and some true love from the lady of his life, Eudoxie, or “Mrs Bridges”.

He wrote on Instagram: ­“Imagine going on vacation with someone who makes you laugh as if he is on stage 24 hours a day 7 days a week non-stop but is your brother and true friend @kevinhart4real. Then also imagine going on vacation with an adrenalin junkie who continuously begs the question: ‘Why tip toe thru life to arrive safely at death?’ @marcoandretti then you will realise that 5 years in a row and counting we are redefining what the word vacation is supposed to mean and enjoying the fruits of our hard work & labour over the years. #livelovelaugh #vacacrew #day2 #beafraidofwhathappensnext.”

Hart also soaked up the party vibe, and was seen with music producer and former president of Def Jam records Kevin Liles. “Formula 1 is unreal ... The energy in Abu Dhabi is amazing ... WOOOOOW,” Hart posted.

“kevinhart4real #Family #Fun #formula1#VacaCrew #Day1 shout out to my guy ‘Kevin Liles’ always good running into him!!! #GoodTimes.”

Things seemed decidedly frosty between Hamilton and Rosberg all weekend. At the post-race press conference, when asked whether the two teammates would get each other a Christmas present, Rosberg responded: “Hmm, maybe a Christmas card?” – before awkwardly smiling and going silent. Hamilton’s answer: “I don’t think we’ve ever done either, so there’s no reason to change.”

Rosberg chose to party at Amber Lounge at Yas Links. Our source who spotted him there on Sunday night said: “Nico Rosberg was very happy, he had a blast inside. He stayed until the sun came up.”

Craig David cranked up the party atmosphere on the decks at Amber Lounge, still buzzing after seeing his first F1 race from the Mercedes-AMG F1 paddock.

Rosberg took to the Amber Lounge stage with his fellow drivers Roberto Merhi, Nico Hülkenberg and Daniil Kvyat. Over the weekend, all manner of former and current F1 drivers partied at Amber Lounge, including Sebastian Vettel, Romain Grosjean and Esteban Gutiérrez, as well as GP3 champion Esteban Ocon and GP2 champion Stoffel Vandoorne.

The club also played host to former Manchester United footballer Dwight Yorke, and Liam Cunningham, who plays Davos Seaworth in Game of Thrones. Cunningham jokingly told fellow partygoer Ellie Saliba, from Lebanon: “Jon Snow knows nothing.”

American actress Lindsay Lohan, who was expected at Amber Lounge, chose to spend Saturday night partying at the VIP Room in Dubai with Hart.

Australian pop singer Dannii Minogue had a close shave while watching Sunday’s race – she posted a picture of herself holding part of a racing car, along with the message: “When a pit stop goes wrong and a piece of F1 car comes flying into the hospitality area! #abudhabi #f1gp2015 #etihadairways @etihadairways.”

Celebrity chef Eric “Cake Boy” Lanlard was also in town. He recently shot an ad video for the Sheraton Hotel with Hamilton, in which he cooks up some fresh salmon for the driver. The Frenchman posted pics of himself on a desert safari, and also bottle-feeding a white tiger.

artslife@thenational.ae

Long read

Mageed Yahia, director of WFP in UAE: Coronavirus knows no borders, and neither should the response

The biog

Family: He is the youngest of five brothers, of whom two are dentists. 

Celebrities he worked on: Fabio Canavaro, Lojain Omran, RedOne, Saber Al Rabai.

Where he works: Liberty Dental Clinic 

$1,000 award for 1,000 days on madrasa portal

Daily cash awards of $1,000 dollars will sweeten the Madrasa e-learning project by tempting more pupils to an education portal to deepen their understanding of math and sciences.

School children are required to watch an educational video each day and answer a question related to it. They then enter into a raffle draw for the $1,000 prize.

“We are targeting everyone who wants to learn. This will be $1,000 for 1,000 days so there will be a winner every day for 1,000 days,” said Sara Al Nuaimi, project manager of the Madrasa e-learning platform that was launched on Tuesday by the Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, to reach Arab pupils from kindergarten to grade 12 with educational videos.  

“The objective of the Madrasa is to become the number one reference for all Arab students in the world. The 5,000 videos we have online is just the beginning, we have big ambitions. Today in the Arab world there are 50 million students. We want to reach everyone who is willing to learn.”

Oscars in the UAE

The 90th Academy Awards will be aired in the UAE from 3.30am on Monday, March 5 on OSN, with the ceremony starting at 5am

The specs
 
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo
Power: 398hp from 5,250rpm
Torque: 580Nm at 1,900-4,800rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L/100km
On sale: December
Price: From Dh330,000 (estimate)
Tips for taking the metro

- set out well ahead of time

- make sure you have at least Dh15 on you Nol card, as there could be big queues for top-up machines

- enter the right cabin. The train may be too busy to move between carriages once you're on

- don't carry too much luggage and tuck it under a seat to make room for fellow passengers

Wicked
Director: Jon M Chu
Stars: Cynthia Erivo, Ariana Grande, Jonathan Bailey
Rating: 4/5
The Orwell Prize for Political Writing

Twelve books were longlisted for The Orwell Prize for Political Writing. The non-fiction works cover various themes from education, gender bias, and the environment to surveillance and political power. Some of the books that made it to the non-fiction longlist include: 

  • Appeasing Hitler: Chamberlain, Churchill and the Road to War by Tim Bouverie
  • Some Kids I Taught and What They Taught Me by Kate Clanchy
  • Invisible Women: Exposing Data Bias in a World Designed for Men by Caroline Criado Perez
  • Follow Me, Akhi: The Online World of British Muslims by Hussein Kesvani
  • Guest House for Young Widows: Among the Women of ISIS by Azadeh Moaveni
Favourite things

Luxury: Enjoys window shopping for high-end bags and jewellery

Discount: She works in luxury retail, but is careful about spending, waits for sales, festivals and only buys on discount

University: The only person in her family to go to college, Jiang secured a bachelor’s degree in business management in China

Masters: Studying part-time for a master’s degree in international business marketing in Dubai

Vacation: Heads back home to see family in China

Community work: Member of the Chinese Business Women’s Association of the UAE to encourage other women entrepreneurs

Simran

Director Hansal Mehta

Stars: Kangana Ranaut, Soham Shah, Esha Tiwari Pandey

Three stars

Company%20Profile
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20myZoi%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%202021%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Syed%20Ali%2C%20Christian%20Buchholz%2C%20Shanawaz%20Rouf%2C%20Arsalan%20Siddiqui%2C%20Nabid%20Hassan%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20UAE%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ENumber%20of%20staff%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%2037%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestment%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Initial%20undisclosed%20funding%20from%20SC%20Ventures%3B%20second%20round%20of%20funding%20totalling%20%2414%20million%20from%20a%20consortium%20of%20SBI%2C%20a%20Japanese%20VC%20firm%2C%20and%20SC%20Venture%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
FIXTURES

Saturday
5.30pm: Shabab Al Ahli v Al Wahda
5.30pm: Khorfakkan v Baniyas
8.15pm: Hatta v Ajman
8.15pm: Sharjah v Al Ain
Sunday
5.30pm: Kalba v Al Jazira
5.30pm: Fujairah v Al Dhafra
8.15pm: Al Nasr v Al Wasl

ESSENTIALS

The flights 
Fly Etihad or Emirates from the UAE to Moscow from 2,763 return per person return including taxes. 
Where to stay 
Trips on the Golden Eagle Trans-Siberian cost from US$16,995 (Dh62,414) per person, based on two sharing.

PROFILE OF INVYGO

Started: 2018

Founders: Eslam Hussein and Pulkit Ganjoo

Based: Dubai

Sector: Transport

Size: 9 employees

Investment: $1,275,000

Investors: Class 5 Global, Equitrust, Gulf Islamic Investments, Kairos K50 and William Zeqiri

The biog

Age: 46

Number of Children: Four

Hobby: Reading history books

Loves: Sports

Sri Lanka-India Test series schedule

 

  • 1st Test India won by 304 runs at Galle
  • 2nd Test Thursday-Monday at Colombo
  • 3rd Test August 12-16 at Pallekele
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 President's Cake

Director: Hasan Hadi

Starring: Baneen Ahmad Nayyef, Waheed Thabet Khreibat, Sajad Mohamad Qasem 

Rating: 4/5

The specs
  • Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
  • Power: 640hp
  • Torque: 760nm
  • On sale: 2026
  • Price: Not announced yet
FIXTURES

All kick-off times UAE ( 4 GMT)

Friday
Sevilla v Levante (midnight)

Saturday
Athletic Bilbao v Real Sociedad (7.15pm)
Eibar v Valencia (9.30pm)
Atletico Madrid v Alaves (11.45pm)

Sunday
Girona v Getafe (3pm)
Celta Vigo v Villarreal (7.15pm)
Las Palmas v Espanyol (9.30pm)
Barcelona v Deportivo la Coruna (11.45pm)

Monday
Malaga v Real Betis (midnight)

Desert Warrior

Starring: Anthony Mackie, Aiysha Hart, Ben Kingsley

Director: Rupert Wyatt

Rating: 3/5

RESULTS

Women:

55kg brown-black belt: Amal Amjahid (BEL) bt Amanda Monteiro (BRA) via choke
62kg brown-black belt: Bianca Basilio (BRA) bt Ffion Davies (GBR) via referee’s decision (0-0, 2-2 adv)
70kg brown-black belt: Ana Carolina Vieira (BRA) bt Jessica Swanson (USA), 9-0
90kg brown-black belt: Angelica Galvao (USA) bt Marta Szarecka (POL) 8-2

Men:

62kg black belt: Joao Miyao (BRA) bt Wan Ki-chae (KOR), 7-2
69kg black belt: Paulo Miyao (BRA) bt Gianni Grippo (USA), 2-2 (1-0 adv)
77kg black belt: Espen Mathiesen (NOR) bt Jake Mackenzie (CAN)
85kg black belt: Isaque Braz (BRA) bt Faisal Al Ketbi (UAE), 2-0
94kg black belt: Felipe Pena (BRA) bt Adam Wardzinski (POL), 4-0
110kg black belt final: Erberth Santos (BRA) bt Lucio Rodrigues (GBR) via rear naked choke