It’s tantalising, it really is. Could 2021 be Lewis Hamilton’s greatest Formula 1 season and his last?
The projection of the mighty Mercedes PR machine is all about the virgin landscape he will be treading as he attempts to become the first driver to win a record eighth world championship.
If all goes according to (Mercedes’) plan the season, starting Friday in Bahrain, will be the most significant by any driver in the sport’s history.
This is first-step-on-the-moon stuff, in F1 terms; sailing into seas uncharted by the greatest drivers you can name: not Ayrton Senna, Alain Prost, not Juan-Manuel Fangio nor Michael Schumacher.
It finds Hamilton at the zenith of both his career and his private ambitions. He is regarded as the world’s greatest racer and beyond F1 an unflinching social crusader, sometimes on fashion or ecology but increasingly on racial inequality.
But then there is the reality: the dark shadows lurking beneath the shimmering lake of apparent perfection.
Why at such a significant juncture would he commit to just one more year at the team that has carried him to this unbelievable peak?
OK, there are sweeping new regulations in 2022, but then why re-sign just a month before testing?
This is Hamilton’s fourth contract at the three pointed star and all of the previous three (Singapore 2012, Monaco in May 2015 and Germany July 2018) were done in good time.
Only the first, made upon his departure from McLaren, wrapped up in September hints that he delays when the landscape is changing.
Most fans believe teams run around behind the star players, arm outstretched proffering a blank cheque, begging them to stay.
The hard truth is that the teams often call the tune (think Ferrari and Sebastian Vettel). Especially when they have a winning car.
And great as he is, George Russell's stand-out performance in Bahrain last year suggests you don't have to be the greatest driver of all time to win in a Mercedes.
As Fernando Alonso put it: “In five days he went from last to first. All without a divine touch, without meditating in Tibet etc. It was enough just to get in a Mercedes.”
F1's highest paid drivers
And all is not as it should be at Team Hamilton either. Last month he split with his closest advisor, and long-time friend, Marc Hynes. Who needs a manager if there are no new deals to be done?
And the day of the announcement of his new contract, February 8, there was not a single Tweet or Instagram from Hamilton.
This prolific social media warrior, who is often moved to message his 30 million strong global following about the slightest affairs of his pet dog Roscoe, was strangely silent.
Any of these factors on its own could be discounted but now they cement whispers of real-life hard bargaining behind the scenes – and Hamilton unhappy about the outcome.
Not only did Hamilton not get the pay rise he wanted, they say, he did not get a pay rise at all.
Some believe Hamilton did not like what he was being offered but Mercedes refused to budge and he was told before Christmas he had to sign ahead of pre-season testing or they would be forced to make other plans.
If that’s the case, the gamble, clearly, was that after years of forcing them to meet his escalating salary demands they believed Hamilton was now the one with most to lose.
Remember Mercedes had happily already agreed to change the colour scheme of the car to back Hamilton’s diversity drive. To anyone else that would be called sponsorship and cost upwards of £100 million a year. Quid pro quo, Lewis.
Mercedes' W12 car
In recent testing Mercedes discovered their race machine is no longer the class of the field but a decidedly tail-happy beast. Boss Toto Wolff called it “a diva”.
The consensus is the new aero rules reducing rear downforce have affected the low rake Mercedes more than most.
Given Honda’s questionable reliability record, though, the Silver Arrows remain favourite to endure over an exhausting 23-race season, but Red Bull are likely to have a handling and performance edge.
So will Hamilton, at 36, enjoy chasing rather than leading; being the underdog rather than top dog?
The script carved by the last few months suggests that inside Mercedes and out Hamilton faces more of a challenge than ever before. And if he wants title No 8 he’s going to have to fight for it.
But then he does love a fight.
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.”
JAPANESE GRAND PRIX INFO
Schedule (All times UAE)
First practice: Friday, 5-6.30am
Second practice: Friday, 9-10.30am
Third practice: Saturday, 7-8am
Qualifying: Saturday, 10-11am
Race: Sunday, 9am-midday
Race venue: Suzuka International Racing Course
Circuit Length: 5.807km
Number of Laps: 53
Watch live: beIN Sports HD
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 261hp at 5,500rpm
Torque: 405Nm at 1,750-3,500rpm
Transmission: 9-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 6.9L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh117,059
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
Indoor cricket in a nutshell
Indoor Cricket World Cup - Sep 16-20, Insportz, Dubai
16 Indoor cricket matches are 16 overs per side
8 There are eight players per team
9 There have been nine Indoor Cricket World Cups for men. Australia have won every one.
5 Five runs are deducted from the score when a wickets falls
4 Batsmen bat in pairs, facing four overs per partnership
Scoring In indoor cricket, runs are scored by way of both physical and bonus runs. Physical runs are scored by both batsmen completing a run from one crease to the other. Bonus runs are scored when the ball hits a net in different zones, but only when at least one physical run is score.
Zones
A Front net, behind the striker and wicketkeeper: 0 runs
B Side nets, between the striker and halfway down the pitch: 1 run
C Side nets between halfway and the bowlers end: 2 runs
D Back net: 4 runs on the bounce, 6 runs on the full
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.
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