• Scuderia Ferrari supporters at the awards ceremony after the Italian Grand Prix in 2019. Getty
    Scuderia Ferrari supporters at the awards ceremony after the Italian Grand Prix in 2019. Getty
  • A Ferrari fan with a horse mask watches the action during qualifying at Monza in 2018. Getty
    A Ferrari fan with a horse mask watches the action during qualifying at Monza in 2018. Getty
  • Ferrari fans hold up a banner featuring Lewis Hamilton of Mercedes. Getty
    Ferrari fans hold up a banner featuring Lewis Hamilton of Mercedes. Getty
  • The Tifosi wave a Ferrari banner during qualifying in 2017. Getty
    The Tifosi wave a Ferrari banner during qualifying in 2017. Getty
  • Grand Prix of Italy, Autodromo Nazionale Monza, September 2016. Getty
    Grand Prix of Italy, Autodromo Nazionale Monza, September 2016. Getty
  • Tifosi during qualifying for the Formula One Grand Prix of Italy in 2015. Getty
    Tifosi during qualifying for the Formula One Grand Prix of Italy in 2015. Getty
  • Tifosi light up flares in 2014. Getty
    Tifosi light up flares in 2014. Getty
  • Fans invade the track in 2013 . Getty
    Fans invade the track in 2013 . Getty
  • Tifosi during the Italian Grand Prix in 2012. Getty
    Tifosi during the Italian Grand Prix in 2012. Getty
  • A tifosi in 2011 in Monza. Getty
    A tifosi in 2011 in Monza. Getty
  • Tifosi invade in 2010. Getty
    Tifosi invade in 2010. Getty
  • Ferrari tifosi in 2009. Getty
    Ferrari tifosi in 2009. Getty
  • Ferrari driver Michael Schumacher salutes the flag waving Tifosi in 2006. Getty
    Ferrari driver Michael Schumacher salutes the flag waving Tifosi in 2006. Getty
  • Tifosi storm the track in 2000. Allsport
    Tifosi storm the track in 2000. Allsport
  • Ferrari Tifosi at Monza in Iin 1999. Allsport
    Ferrari Tifosi at Monza in Iin 1999. Allsport
  • Tifosi fans in 1970. Getty
    Tifosi fans in 1970. Getty

Ferrari's passionate tifosi facing a miserable afternoon at Monza


  • English
  • Arabic

It’s difficult to put into words just how much Monza – Sunday’s home of the Italian Grand Prix – means to Ferrari and their passionate following.

A sprawling royal park is a curious stage but there is palpable sense of the immense motorsport history in a lingering concoction of burnt oil and scorched brakes, the new buildings and old fences.

Once the scene of kings and princes on a sedate Sunday canter, the sprawling 700 hectare site has been transformed by a national obsession into a cathedral of worship for the fastest F1 race on earth.

And the speeds are such around what is effectively four straights joined by three Mickey-Mouse chicanes that accidents, even now, are inevitably serious. Topping 350kph will do that.

Over the decades 40 fans and 50 drivers have died, including Ronnie Peterson and Jochen Rindt, the sport’s only posthumous champion, killed at the 1970 staging. A fire marshal was killed by a flying wheel in 2000.

So along with the majesty and passion goes a tangible melancholy.

But still they come to worship, the Ferrari fans who have their own name – the tifosi – which quite literally means ‘those infected by a fever’.

To see a hoard of Maranello’s finest coming in and out of the circuit is to witness the modern equivalent of a feudal army, predominantly red, on the march. Giant flags fluttering, klaxons playing, flares spark and smoke bomb erupt to create a drifting red fog.

The tifosi cheer Ferrari drivers to the rafters and celebrate when rivals, even Italian ones, crash out. The race may be in progress but if their blood-red icons retire they head home en masse.

The park’s size is a both a blessing and a curse. Rabid fans flood over the walls in their thousands and disappear into the expansive woods making it impossible to patrol adequately.

I have jogged and driven the circuit at dusk and seen fans camped on the inner recesses, gathered around bonfires, built halfway up disused concrete grandstands, without fear of being removed.

Charles Leclerc celebrates on top of his Ferrari after winning the Italian Grand Prix in 2019. Reuters
Charles Leclerc celebrates on top of his Ferrari after winning the Italian Grand Prix in 2019. Reuters

In the 1990s I helicoptered back from an event at Lake Como and descended from the clouds to witness what could only be described as a small city of trucks, vans, motorhomes, caravans and seething humanity.

Outside the paddock gates the melee is the same every year. Barely controlled chaos.

Inside, what is supposed to be the calm, business epicentre of a global sporting enterprise, is transformed for one weekend into an anything-goes fashion show sprinkled with Italian madness.

My first experience of the track in 1987 as Ayrton Senna’s public relations man I was standing outside the pit lane garage after the race ended when a mechanic suddenly shouted “inside, inside”.

I dived in as the garage doors clanged shut the length of the pitlane. It became apparent why. Tens of thousands of passionate fans had found a gap and surged through the fencing to hammer enthusiastically on the steel doors. It was like being inside a drum.

My daily drive to the track took me past the gates of Villa San Martino in Arcore, owned by the nation’s most famous political figure of recent times, Silvio Berlusconi. The armed carabinieri lounging by the main gates are the most relaxed security detail in the world.

But the dichotomy that is Italy was never clearer than when I learnt from court papers that Berlusconi’s head of security there in the 1970s had been Vittorio Mangano, who died in prison in 2000, jailed for mafia activities including racketeering, kidnap and extortion. Berlusconi denied any knowledge of Mangano’s activities but later hailed the man “a hero”.

As far as the racing goes Ferrari will be praying this year’s event slides into oblivion as quick as the last round, which was their worst result in a decade.

Team boss Mattia Binotto, the figure most culpable, is right in at least one respect, they are at the centre of a raging storm. Passion cuts both ways.

Their fall from grace is such that last year’s winners at Monza are doubtful of a top 10 finish for their home race even at a circuit specifically designed to appeal to their greatest strength – power. Sadly it will only demonstrate the scale of its absence in 2020.

Perhaps it’s just as well the fans are banned by the pandemic. But I can promise you, however well the camera angles hide them, and however bad the omens are for their beloved Ferrari the tifosi will be close at hand on Sunday.

Closer, probably, than Charles Leclerc or Sebastian Vettel will be to Lewis Hamilton or Valtteri Bottas, that’s for sure.

The specs

Engine: 3.8-litre, twin-turbo V8

Transmission: eight-speed automatic

Power: 582bhp

Torque: 730Nm

Price: Dh649,000

On sale: now  

Profile

Company: Justmop.com

Date started: December 2015

Founders: Kerem Kuyucu and Cagatay Ozcan

Sector: Technology and home services

Based: Jumeirah Lake Towers, Dubai

Size: 55 employees and 100,000 cleaning requests a month

Funding:  The company’s investors include Collective Spark, Faith Capital Holding, Oak Capital, VentureFriends, and 500 Startups. 

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Essentials
The flights: You can fly from the UAE to Iceland with one stop in Europe with a variety of airlines. Return flights with Emirates from Dubai to Stockholm, then Icelandair to Reykjavik, cost from Dh4,153 return. The whole trip takes 11 hours. British Airways flies from Abu Dhabi and Dubai to Reykjavik, via London, with return flights taking 12 hours and costing from Dh2,490 return, including taxes. 
The activities: A half-day Silfra snorkelling trip costs 14,990 Icelandic kronur (Dh544) with Dive.is. Inside the Volcano also takes half a day and costs 42,000 kronur (Dh1,524). The Jokulsarlon small-boat cruise lasts about an hour and costs 9,800 kronur (Dh356). Into the Glacier costs 19,500 kronur (Dh708). It lasts three to four hours.
The tours: It’s often better to book a tailor-made trip through a specialist operator. UK-based Discover the World offers seven nights, self-driving, across the island from £892 (Dh4,505) per person. This includes three nights’ accommodation at Hotel Husafell near Into the Glacier, two nights at Hotel Ranga and two nights at the Icelandair Hotel Klaustur. It includes car rental, plus an iPad with itinerary and tourist information pre-loaded onto it, while activities can be booked as optional extras. More information inspiredbyiceland.com

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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 
Company%20Profile
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COMPANY PROFILE

Name: Xpanceo

Started: 2018

Founders: Roman Axelrod, Valentyn Volkov

Based: Dubai, UAE

Industry: Smart contact lenses, augmented/virtual reality

Funding: $40 million

Investor: Opportunity Venture (Asia)

Timeline

2012-2015

The company offers payments/bribes to win key contracts in the Middle East

May 2017

The UK SFO officially opens investigation into Petrofac’s use of agents, corruption, and potential bribery to secure contracts

September 2021

Petrofac pleads guilty to seven counts of failing to prevent bribery under the UK Bribery Act

October 2021

Court fines Petrofac £77 million for bribery. Former executive receives a two-year suspended sentence 

December 2024

Petrofac enters into comprehensive restructuring to strengthen the financial position of the group

May 2025

The High Court of England and Wales approves the company’s restructuring plan

July 2025

The Court of Appeal issues a judgment challenging parts of the restructuring plan

August 2025

Petrofac issues a business update to execute the restructuring and confirms it will appeal the Court of Appeal decision

October 2025

Petrofac loses a major TenneT offshore wind contract worth €13 billion. Holding company files for administration in the UK. Petrofac delisted from the London Stock Exchange

November 2025

180 Petrofac employees laid off in the UAE

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