Lando Norris came out on top in a tense battle with his McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri to secure victory at the Hungarian Grand Prix on Sunday.
After losing places following a poor start at the Hungaroring, a bold strategy paid dividends for Norris, who briefly dropped to fifth on the first lap, but made his tyres last to stop only once, while Piastri changed twice.
Piastri steadily cut into Norris’ lead in the latter stages of the race – and nearly collided with his teammate while trying to pass on the second-to-last lap – but the British driver held on to take the win by just 0.698 seconds.
It means the Australian's lead in the drivers' championship has been cut down to nine points after Norris's fifth win of the season ahead of F1's midseason break.
What started out as a day of promise for Charles Leclerc ended up a miserable one for the Ferrari man who started from pole and held on to that lead early on.
But an increasingly exasperated Monegasque would finish the race fourth after being overtaken by the Mercedes of George Russell with eight laps to go, while Fernando Alonso took fifth – a fine result considering his back problems – and Gabriel Bortoleto secured a career-best sixth place for Sauber.
“I’m dead, it was tough, we weren’t really planning on a one-stop at the beginning but after the first lap it was kind of our only option to get back into things,” said Norris after McLaren's fourth consecutive one-two finish.
“It was tough in the final stint with Oscar catching I was pushing flat out you know so my voice has gone a little bit. It feels good and rewarding a little more because of that but a good result today.
“We’re so tightly fought it’s hard to say that momentum is on anyone’s side, but we’re fighting hard both of us and it’s fun, it’s tough but fun racing with Oscar.
“It’s great for us as a team and another one-two and our 200th win in Formula One. Credit to Oscar, he put up a good charge and I just about held on, so I look forward to many more of these.”
Piastri insisted that he “as hard as I could” but needed a mistake from his teammate that never arrived. “I saw Lando going for a one [stop] so I knew I was going to have to overtake on track, which is easier said then done around here,” said the Australian.
“Tried a few things; it was a gamble either way and unfortunately, we were just on the other side of it. I needed to be a couple of tenths closer, and it was going to take a mistake from Lando to achieve that.
“You never want to try to save it for the next lap and it never comes, so thought I would at least try, but not quite.”
Russell admitted his battle for third place with Leclerc ended up being “a bit dicey at some points” but was “happy to be back on the podium”.
“It’s one of those when you sort of commit to a bit of a divebomb, if a driver in front moves, you’re already right on the limit of grip and there’s not much room for manoeuvre,” said the Briton.
“I think we made contact on the second time but I’m just glad to get through and a nice way to go into the break.”
Leclerc was furious after problems that left his Ferrari “undriveable” in a race that also saw him given a five-second penalty for erratic driving during his battle with Russell.
“It was around lap 40 because as soon as I started to struggle and complain, it was basically where we started to have the issue and it then got worse and worse,” said Leclerc about the chassis problem.
“It's very frustrating to have everything under control to know that the pace is in the car to win and then you end up being nowhere. We lost a podium so I'm very disappointed.”
Reigning champion Max Verstappen finished ninth, with Lewis Hamilton fighting his way past Pierre Gasly and then Carl Sainz Jnr but finished outside of the points on a desperate weekend for the 40-year-old.
On Saturday, Hamilton had called his performance “just useless” after qualifying down in 12th.
Tamkeen's offering
- Option 1: 70% in year 1, 50% in year 2, 30% in year 3
- Option 2: 50% across three years
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Ruwais timeline
1971 Abu Dhabi National Oil Company established
1980 Ruwais Housing Complex built, located 10 kilometres away from industrial plants
1982 120,000 bpd capacity Ruwais refinery complex officially inaugurated by the founder of the UAE Sheikh Zayed
1984 Second phase of Ruwais Housing Complex built. Today the 7,000-unit complex houses some 24,000 people.
1985 The refinery is expanded with the commissioning of a 27,000 b/d hydro cracker complex
2009 Plans announced to build $1.2 billion fertilizer plant in Ruwais, producing urea
2010 Adnoc awards $10bn contracts for expansion of Ruwais refinery, to double capacity from 415,000 bpd
2014 Ruwais 261-outlet shopping mall opens
2014 Production starts at newly expanded Ruwais refinery, providing jet fuel and diesel and allowing the UAE to be self-sufficient for petrol supplies
2014 Etihad Rail begins transportation of sulphur from Shah and Habshan to Ruwais for export
2017 Aldar Academies to operate Adnoc’s schools including in Ruwais from September. Eight schools operate in total within the housing complex.
2018 Adnoc announces plans to invest $3.1 billion on upgrading its Ruwais refinery
2018 NMC Healthcare selected to manage operations of Ruwais Hospital
2018 Adnoc announces new downstream strategy at event in Abu Dhabi on May 13
Source: The National
At Eternity’s Gate
Director: Julian Schnabel
Starring: Willem Dafoe, Oscar Isaacs, Mads Mikkelsen
Three stars
Stuck in a job without a pay rise? Here's what to do
Chris Greaves, the managing director of Hays Gulf Region, says those without a pay rise for an extended period must start asking questions – both of themselves and their employer.
“First, are they happy with that or do they want more?” he says. “Job-seeking is a time-consuming, frustrating and long-winded affair so are they prepared to put themselves through that rigmarole? Before they consider that, they must ask their employer what is happening.”
Most employees bring up pay rise queries at their annual performance appraisal and find out what the company has in store for them from a career perspective.
Those with no formal appraisal system, Mr Greaves says, should ask HR or their line manager for an assessment.
“You want to find out how they value your contribution and where your job could go,” he says. “You’ve got to be brave enough to ask some questions and if you don’t like the answers then you have to develop a strategy or change jobs if you are prepared to go through the job-seeking process.”
For those that do reach the salary negotiation with their current employer, Mr Greaves says there is no point in asking for less than 5 per cent.
“However, this can only really have any chance of success if you can identify where you add value to the business (preferably you can put a monetary value on it), or you can point to a sustained contribution above the call of duty or to other achievements you think your employer will value.”
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League semi-finals, second leg:
Liverpool (0) v Barcelona (3), Tuesday, 11pm UAE
Game is on BeIN Sports
Top financial tips for graduates
Araminta Robertson, of the Financially Mint blog, shares her financial advice for university leavers:
1. Build digital or technical skills: After graduation, people can find it extremely hard to find jobs. From programming to digital marketing, your early twenties are for building skills. Future employers will want people with tech skills.
2. Side hustle: At 16, I lived in a village and started teaching online, as well as doing work as a virtual assistant and marketer. There are six skills you can use online: translation; teaching; programming; digital marketing; design and writing. If you master two, you’ll always be able to make money.
3. Networking: Knowing how to make connections is extremely useful. Use LinkedIn to find people who have the job you want, connect and ask to meet for coffee. Ask how they did it and if they know anyone who can help you. I secured quite a few clients this way.
4. Pay yourself first: The minute you receive any income, put about 15 per cent aside into a savings account you won’t touch, to go towards your emergency fund or to start investing. I do 20 per cent. It helped me start saving immediately.
The President's Cake
Director: Hasan Hadi
Starring: Baneen Ahmad Nayyef, Waheed Thabet Khreibat, Sajad Mohamad Qasem
Rating: 4/5
I Care A Lot
Directed by: J Blakeson
Starring: Rosamund Pike, Peter Dinklage
3/5 stars
MATCH INFO
Manchester City 6 Huddersfield Town 1
Man City: Agüero (25', 35', 75'), Jesus (31'), Silva (48'), Kongolo (84' og)
Huddersfield: Stankovic (43')
Who was Alfred Nobel?
The Nobel Prize was created by wealthy Swedish chemist and entrepreneur Alfred Nobel.
- In his will he dictated that the bulk of his estate should be used to fund "prizes to those who, during the preceding year, have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind".
- Nobel is best known as the inventor of dynamite, but also wrote poetry and drama and could speak Russian, French, English and German by the age of 17. The five original prize categories reflect the interests closest to his heart.
- Nobel died in 1896 but it took until 1901, following a legal battle over his will, before the first prizes were awarded.
