People like to be associated with winners. For this reason alone, world champions are almost always popular.
Yet in the curious case of Sebastian Vettel, the young German racing driver with the penchant for British humour, his popularity stems not from his talent - undoubtable as it is - but rather because Red Bull Racing's 24-year-old phenomenon has a charisma that is impossible not to marvel at.
Yesterday, Vettel completed a perfect day at Buddh International Circuit by leading from start to finish to convert his pole position into an 11th Formula One race win of the season.
On the final lap, with it all to lose and the instructions coming from his team to simply "bring her home" he did so in style - by putting his foot down and securing the fastest lap.
If such a reckless, risky accomplishment charmed the Indian fans - of which 95,000 had turned out to witness what organisers called "a historic day for India" - the young champion's eloquence in the post-race press conference charmed the local media.
With a prelude that involved a recitation of Neil Armstrong's first words on landing on the moon, Vettel was asked by a local reporter if he had his own first words to be inscribed in the annals of Indian history.
Vettel replied, to gasps of surprise, in Hindi. "Dhanyawaad ... aapki aankei bahut khoobsurat hai," he said, before blushing and explaining to several confused faces that he had said "thank you, your eyes are beautiful".
One Indian television presenter immediately proclaimed Vettel "could be an ambassador for this country," adding "to think he's only 24 ... the kid is fantastic."
Such charm has been mutual this weekend, however, as India embraced Formula One with open arms and wide smiles.
Sachin Tendulkar, the Indian cricketer, waved the chequered flag, while several Bollywood celebrities paraded around the paddock soaking up the atmosphere.
As Vettel said though, the track "is what we judge most" and all 24 drivers had nothing but positive comments for the Hermann Tilke-designed layout.
Jenson Button, the McLaren-Mercedes driver who finished 8.4 seconds behind Vettel in second, said of the track that "in years to come, we are going to think of it as one of the greats" while Fernando Alonso of Ferrari finished a further 15.8 seconds behind, but had no complaints.
"From zero to 10 maybe it's a nine," the Spaniard said. "It's very good. The 10 will be reached very soon."
Vettel's perfect show came as little surprise for he has now led more laps in a Formula One season than any other driver in the six-decade history of the sport. To put the two-time world champion's 700-plus laps into perspective, Button, the 2009 drivers' title winner, has led only 617 in his career.
The German's victory in India also means the possibility of equalling Michael Schumacher's record of most wins in a season - 13- is still alive.
"The whole team is still very hungry and the best thing is we still have two races to go," Vettel said in reference to the Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix on November 13 and the Brazilian Grand Prix two weeks later.
Narain Karthikeyan, the sole Indian driver to compete yesterday, finished 17th at his home race and more than 30 seconds ahead of Daniel Ricciardo, his rookie teammate. Yet the 34 year old will almost certainly be dropped by the time the teams arrive at Yas Marina with Vitantonio Liuzzi coming back in for Hispania Racing Team.
"I had a great grand prix and I really enjoyed myself, it was an amazing experience," Karthikeyan said.
"To finish 17th in my home grand prix is the best I could have wished for with the car we have and beating my teammate and one Lotus on the way makes it all the more satisfying."
Vettel, Button and Alonso all dedicated their performances to the lives of Dan Wheldon, the British IndyCar driver, and Marco Simoncelli, the Italian MotoGP rider, who both died earlier this month in racing accidents.
"To be honest, it is a little bit mixed emotions," Vettel said. "On the one hand, I am very happy. It's the first grand prix in India and I'm very proud to be the first winner, but on the other hand we've lost two of our mates."
gmeenaghan@thenational.ae
Follow
The National Sport
on
@SprtNationalUAE
& Gary Meenaghan on
@GMeenaghan
The view from The National
Tamkeen's offering
- Option 1: 70% in year 1, 50% in year 2, 30% in year 3
- Option 2: 50% across three years
- Option 3: 30% across five years
Iftar programme at the Sheikh Mohammed Centre for Cultural Understanding
Established in 1998, the Sheikh Mohammed Centre for Cultural Understanding was created with a vision to teach residents about the traditions and customs of the UAE. Its motto is ‘open doors, open minds’. All year-round, visitors can sign up for a traditional Emirati breakfast, lunch or dinner meal, as well as a range of walking tours, including ones to sites such as the Jumeirah Mosque or Al Fahidi Historical Neighbourhood.
Every year during Ramadan, an iftar programme is rolled out. This allows guests to break their fast with the centre’s presenters, visit a nearby mosque and observe their guides while they pray. These events last for about two hours and are open to the public, or can be booked for a private event.
Until the end of Ramadan, the iftar events take place from 7pm until 9pm, from Saturday to Thursday. Advanced booking is required.
For more details, email openminds@cultures.ae or visit www.cultures.ae
High profile Al Shabab attacks
- 2010: A restaurant attack in Kampala Uganda kills 74 people watching a Fifa World Cup final football match.
- 2013: The Westgate shopping mall attack, 62 civilians, five Kenyan soldiers and four gunmen are killed.
- 2014: A series of bombings and shootings across Kenya sees scores of civilians killed.
- 2015: Four gunmen attack Garissa University College in northeastern Kenya and take over 700 students hostage, killing those who identified as Christian; 148 die and 79 more are injured.
- 2016: An attack on a Kenyan military base in El Adde Somalia kills 180 soldiers.
- 2017: A suicide truck bombing outside the Safari Hotel in Mogadishu kills 587 people and destroys several city blocks, making it the deadliest attack by the group and the worst in Somalia’s history.
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.”
((Disclaimer))
The Liechtensteinische Landesbank AG (“Bank”) assumes no liability or guarantee for the accuracy, balance, or completeness of the information in this publication. The content may change at any time due to given circumstances, and the Liechtensteinische Landesbank AG is under no obligation to update information once it has been published. This publication is intended for information purposes only and does not constitute an offer, a recommendation or an invitation by, or on behalf of, Liechtensteinische Landesbank (DIFC Branch), Liechtensteinische Landesbank AG, or any of its group affiliates to make any investments or obtain services. This publication has not been reviewed, disapproved or approved by the United Arab Emirates (“UAE”) Central Bank, Dubai Financial Services Authority (“DFSA”) or any other relevant licensing authorities in the UAE. It may not be relied upon by or distributed to retail clients. Liechtensteinische Landesbank (DIFC Branch) is regulated by the DFSA and this advertorial is intended for Professional Clients (as defined by the DFSA) who have sufficient financial experience and understanding of financial markets, products or transactions and any associated risks.
Sweet%20Tooth
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECreator%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EJim%20Mickle%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarring%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EChristian%20Convery%2C%20Nonso%20Anozie%2C%20Adeel%20Akhtar%2C%20Stefania%20LaVie%20Owen%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E2.5%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
How to wear a kandura
Dos
- Wear the right fabric for the right season and occasion
- Always ask for the dress code if you don’t know
- Wear a white kandura, white ghutra / shemagh (headwear) and black shoes for work
- Wear 100 per cent cotton under the kandura as most fabrics are polyester
Don’ts
- Wear hamdania for work, always wear a ghutra and agal
- Buy a kandura only based on how it feels; ask questions about the fabric and understand what you are buying
The details
Heard It in a Past Life
Maggie Rogers
(Capital Records)
3/5
If you go
- The nearest international airport to the start of the Chuysky Trakt is in Novosibirsk. Emirates (www.emirates.com) offer codeshare flights with S7 Airlines (www.s7.ru) via Moscow for US$5,300 (Dh19,467) return including taxes. Cheaper flights are available on Flydubai and Air Astana or Aeroflot combination, flying via Astana in Kazakhstan or Moscow. Economy class tickets are available for US$650 (Dh2,400).
- The Double Tree by Hilton in Novosibirsk ( 7 383 2230100,) has double rooms from US$60 (Dh220). You can rent cabins at camp grounds or rooms in guesthouses in the towns for around US$25 (Dh90).
- The transport Minibuses run along the Chuysky Trakt but if you want to stop for sightseeing, hire a taxi from Gorno-Altaisk for about US$100 (Dh360) a day. Take a Russian phrasebook or download a translation app. Tour companies such as Altair-Tour ( 7 383 2125115 ) offer hiking and adventure packages.
