Former Williams F1 team principal Sir Frank Williams.
Former Williams F1 team principal Sir Frank Williams.
Former Williams F1 team principal Sir Frank Williams.
Former Williams F1 team principal Sir Frank Williams.

F1

Formula One great Sir Frank Williams in stable condition in hospital

Williams team urge supporters to respect family's privacy as they deal with 'private matter'

The National

December 15, 2020

  • English
  • Arabic

Formula One great Sir Frank Williams has been admitted to hospital where he is currently in a stable condition, the Williams team have announced.

The 78-year-old established the team in 1977 and it went on to win nine constructors' championships, the most recent in 1997.

A statement read: "Sir Frank Williams has recently been admitted to hospital where he is currently in a stable condition.

"Frank's medical condition is a private matter and therefore the family will not be releasing any further details at this time.

"We will ask you to respect the family's privacy. The team will release a further update in due course."

Williams has used a wheelchair since being injured in a car accident in France in 1986. He stepped down from the board of the Williams F1 team in 2012, and stopped all involvement in the team in September this year, following its sale to Dorilton Capital.

________________

Williams family end F1 journey

  • George Russell of Williams during the Italian GP in Monza. The Williams family ended their association with Formula One on Sunday. Getty
    George Russell of Williams during the Italian GP in Monza. The Williams family ended their association with Formula One on Sunday. Getty
  • The historic Williams Formula One team has been bought by US investment firm Dorilton Capital, ending 43 years of family ownership. EPA
    The historic Williams Formula One team has been bought by US investment firm Dorilton Capital, ending 43 years of family ownership. EPA
  • Williams deputy team principal Claire Williams with husband Marc Harris before the Italian GP in Monza. Getty
    Williams deputy team principal Claire Williams with husband Marc Harris before the Italian GP in Monza. Getty
  • The team was founded in 1977 by Frank Williams, left, and Patrick Head, right. Williams have won nine constructors' titles and seven drivers' championships, the last one being Jacques Villeneuve’s triumph in 1997. AFP
    The team was founded in 1977 by Frank Williams, left, and Patrick Head, right. Williams have won nine constructors' titles and seven drivers' championships, the last one being Jacques Villeneuve’s triumph in 1997. AFP
  • Claire Williams ran the day to day operations while Frank remained the principal. But his close friend and former Formula One boss Bernie Ecclestone said that was the problem. "Trouble was, Frank was hands-on in the way he managed the team," Ecclestone said in June. AFP
    Claire Williams ran the day to day operations while Frank remained the principal. But his close friend and former Formula One boss Bernie Ecclestone said that was the problem. "Trouble was, Frank was hands-on in the way he managed the team," Ecclestone said in June. AFP
  • The Williams Formula One team have been bought by US-based investment firm Dorilton Capital after being put up for sale in May. PA
    The Williams Formula One team have been bought by US-based investment firm Dorilton Capital after being put up for sale in May. PA
  • Williams were forced to look for new investment when in May Williams Grand Prix Holdings group reported an adjusted loss of £13 million for the year ending 2019. EPA
    Williams were forced to look for new investment when in May Williams Grand Prix Holdings group reported an adjusted loss of £13 million for the year ending 2019. EPA
  • Williams's performance on the track has also taken a hit. They finished as high as third in the constructors' championship in 2015 but last year slid to bottom, the same position they occupy this season. AFP
    Williams's performance on the track has also taken a hit. They finished as high as third in the constructors' championship in 2015 but last year slid to bottom, the same position they occupy this season. AFP
  • It represents quite a contrast to the glory years in the 1990s when the likes of Nigel Mansell, Alain Prost and Damon Hill dominated at Williams. AFP
    It represents quite a contrast to the glory years in the 1990s when the likes of Nigel Mansell, Alain Prost and Damon Hill dominated at Williams. AFP
  • Williams' British driver George Russell, right, leads his teammate Nicholas Latifi at the 70th Anniversary Grand Prix at Silverstone on August 9. AFP
    Williams' British driver George Russell, right, leads his teammate Nicholas Latifi at the 70th Anniversary Grand Prix at Silverstone on August 9. AFP
  • British racing driver Susie Wolff of Williams drives out of team's garage during the first practice session of the British Grand Prix at Silverstone in 2014. EPA
    British racing driver Susie Wolff of Williams drives out of team's garage during the first practice session of the British Grand Prix at Silverstone in 2014. EPA
  • Frank Williams, right, the then head BMW-Williams Formula One team, chats with one of his technicians after the free practice round at the Nuerburgring circuit in Germany in 2003. EPA
    Frank Williams, right, the then head BMW-Williams Formula One team, chats with one of his technicians after the free practice round at the Nuerburgring circuit in Germany in 2003. EPA
Family reunited

Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe was born and raised in Tehran and studied English literature before working as a translator in the relief effort for the Japanese International Co-operation Agency in 2003.

She moved to the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies before moving to the World Health Organisation as a communications officer.

She came to the UK in 2007 after securing a scholarship at London Metropolitan University to study a master's in communication management and met her future husband through mutual friends a month later.

The couple were married in August 2009 in Winchester and their daughter was born in June 2014.

She was held in her native country a year later.

The%20specs
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Ad Astra

Director: James Gray

Stars: Brad Pitt, Tommy Lee Jones

Five out of five stars 

Company profile

Name: Oulo.com

Founder: Kamal Nazha

Based: Dubai

Founded: 2020

Number of employees: 5

Sector: Technology

Funding: $450,000

How to get there

Emirates (www.emirates.com) flies directly to Hanoi, Vietnam, with fares starting from around Dh2,725 return, while Etihad (www.etihad.com) fares cost about Dh2,213 return with a stop. Chuong is 25 kilometres south of Hanoi.
 

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Read part three: the age of the electric vehicle begins

Read part two: how climate change drove the race for an alternative 

Read part one: how cars came to the UAE

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Director: Siva
Stars: Suriya, Bobby Deol, Disha Patani, Yogi Babu, Redin Kingsley
Rating: 2/5
 
MATCH INFO

Leeds United 0

Brighton 1 (Maupay 17')

Man of the match: Ben White (Brighton)

Five famous companies founded by teens

There are numerous success stories of teen businesses that were created in college dorm rooms and other modest circumstances. Below are some of the most recognisable names in the industry:

  1. Facebook: Mark Zuckerberg and his friends started Facebook when he was a 19-year-old Harvard undergraduate. 
  2. Dell: When Michael Dell was an undergraduate student at Texas University in 1984, he started upgrading computers for profit. He starting working full-time on his business when he was 19. Eventually, his company became the Dell Computer Corporation and then Dell Inc. 
  3. Subway: Fred DeLuca opened the first Subway restaurant when he was 17. In 1965, Mr DeLuca needed extra money for college, so he decided to open his own business. Peter Buck, a family friend, lent him $1,000 and together, they opened Pete’s Super Submarines. A few years later, the company was rebranded and called Subway. 
  4. Mashable: In 2005, Pete Cashmore created Mashable in Scotland when he was a teenager. The site was then a technology blog. Over the next few decades, Mr Cashmore has turned Mashable into a global media company.
  5. Oculus VR: Palmer Luckey founded Oculus VR in June 2012, when he was 19. In August that year, Oculus launched its Kickstarter campaign and raised more than $1 million in three days. Facebook bought Oculus for $2 billion two years later.
Our legal consultant

Name: Dr Hassan Mohsen Elhais

Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.

Turkish Ladies

Various artists, Sony Music Turkey 

Desert Warrior

Starring: Anthony Mackie, Aiysha Hart, Ben Kingsley

Director: Rupert Wyatt

Rating: 3/5

Dubai Bling season three

Cast: Loujain Adada, Zeina Khoury, Farhana Bodi, Ebraheem Al Samadi, Mona Kattan, and couples Safa & Fahad Siddiqui and DJ Bliss & Danya Mohammed 

Rating: 1/5

Andor
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Kareem Shaheen on Canada
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4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
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8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
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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.”

Company%20Profile
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F1