Max Verstappen cruised to victory in the Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix on Sunday, leading from start to finish and never looking like he was in any serious danger of not taking first place.
The Red Bull driver, who had earlier secured pole position with a blistering final qualifying lap, went into the first corner pursued by second placed Valtteri Bottas, but that was as close as it got. The victor finished 15.9 seconds ahead of his Mercedes rival, who also kept his No 2 slot throughout the entire race.
Under the spotlights blazing down on the track, Verstappen jumped out of his car after re-entering the pits, looking as fresh as if he’d just been taking a stroll round Yas Marina Circuit, rather than charging around it at breakneck speeds in a fast-but-fragile vehicle.
“What a way to close a season - fantastic, mate," a Red Bull engineer said to the victorious driver on the team radio as the car crossed the line.
"After such a busy year, I think everyone was a bit tired at the end, but it is amazing," Verstappen replied.
"It was really enjoyable," the 23-year-old Dutchman said after the race. "We had a good start and we did everything well. Once you get a good start, you can control the pace and it makes your life easier.”
Despite Verstappen’s apparent spriteliness, the season finale marked the end of a tough year for the entire Formula One community, and he indicated that he himself hadn’t found it as easy as it might have appeared.
"I am going to enjoy the podium, and then I am going to enjoy going home," he said.
Radio exchanges between Verstappen and his crew hinted at potential problems with the car as the race progressed, but the issues, whatever they were, were not enough to bring his race to an untimely end.
It was Red Bull's first win in Abu Dhabi since Sebastian Vettel won in 2013 and ended Mercedes' streak of six straight victories in the capital.
This was also the first time Verstappen had managed to lead a race from green lights to final flag. His victory secured him third place in the drivers’ championship.
Lewis Hamilton, who finished third, some 18.4 seconds behind Verstappen, already had the drivers' championship in the bag after victory at the Turkish Grand Prix gave him sufficient points to ensure he was uncatchable, but the Englishman found the weekend's racing tough.
He did not seem 100 per cent fit after testing positive for the coronavirus and spending time in quarantine before he was given the all clear, and said as much on Saturday.
"You cannot win them all,” the Mercedes driver said after the race. “Considering the past couple of weeks I had, I am happy with the weekend. It is not 100 per cent and as good as I would have liked.
"That was a really hard race for me physically. All year, I have been fine, but today I wasn't so I am just glad it is over.
"I didn't think any time last week I would be here, so I am truly grateful for my health and to be alive."
Hamilton’s teammate Bottas was happy with his performance, but acknowledged Verstappen’s superior driving.
"The Red Bull was too quick today,” the Mercedes driver said. “We could not get near them and could not keep up with them, but it was a solid race from my side."
The Finn’s second placing sees him retain that very position in the drivers’ championship.
There was also jubilation and much air-punching in the McLaren camp after the drivers, Lando Norris and Carlos Sainz, secured third place in the constructors’ championship for the team after they finished fifth and sixth respectively.
A solid drive saw Alex Albon take fourth spot in the second Red Bull, just 1.5 seconds behind Hamilton, while Renault’s Daniel Ricciardo, in his last race for the team before replacing Sainz at McLaren, came in seventh. The Australian’s teammate Esteban Ocon was ninth in the standings. For his part, Ricciardo finished fifth in this year’s drivers’ championship.
The race top 10 was rounded out by Scuderia AlphaTauri’s Pierre Gasly who finished eighth, and Racing Point’s Lance Stroll, who secured a spot at the tail end of the first half of the final results.
Sergio Perez, who confounded all expectations to win the Sakhir Grand Prix in Bahrain a week ago, was unlucky today as he was forced to retire on lap 10 due to engine failure.
The race was briefly held up after the incident occurred and the safety car had to come out. Perez was the only driver not to finish in Abu Dhabi. However, he still managed to finish fourth in the drivers’ championship.
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%3Cp%3EAverage%20amount%20of%20biofuel%20produced%20at%20DIC%20factory%20every%20month%3A%20%3Cstrong%3EApproximately%20106%2C000%20litres%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EAmount%20of%20biofuel%20produced%20from%201%20litre%20of%20used%20cooking%20oil%3A%20%3Cstrong%3E920ml%20(92%25)%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3ETime%20required%20for%20one%20full%20cycle%20of%20production%20from%20used%20cooking%20oil%20to%20biofuel%3A%20%3Cstrong%3EOne%20day%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EEnergy%20requirements%20for%20one%20cycle%20of%20production%20from%201%2C000%20litres%20of%20used%20cooking%20oil%3A%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3E%E2%96%AA%20Electricity%20-%201.1904%20units%3Cbr%3E%E2%96%AA%20Water-%2031%20litres%3Cbr%3E%E2%96%AA%20Diesel%20%E2%80%93%2026.275%20litres%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
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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.”
RESULT
Bayern Munich 5 Eintrracht Frankfurt 2
Bayern: Goretzka (17'), Müller (41'), Lewandowski (46'), Davies (61'), Hinteregger (74' og)
Frankfurt: Hinteregger (52', 55')
Match info
Uefa Champions League Group B
Tottenham Hotspur 1 (Eriksen 80')
Inter Milan 0
Company name: Play:Date
Launched: March 2017 on UAE Mother’s Day
Founder: Shamim Kassibawi
Based: Dubai with operations in the UAE and US
Sector: Tech
Size: 20 employees
Stage of funding: Seed
Investors: Three founders (two silent co-founders) and one venture capital fund
Leaderboard
15 under: Paul Casey (ENG)
-14: Robert MacIntyre (SCO)
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-9 Kalle Samooja (FIN)
-8 Thomas Detry (BEL), Justin Harding (SA), Justin Rose (ENG)
Polarised public
31% in UK say BBC is biased to left-wing views
19% in UK say BBC is biased to right-wing views
19% in UK say BBC is not biased at all
Source: YouGov
What is the FNC?
The Federal National Council is one of five federal authorities established by the UAE constitution. It held its first session on December 2, 1972, a year to the day after Federation.
It has 40 members, eight of whom are women. The members represent the UAE population through each of the emirates. Abu Dhabi and Dubai have eight members each, Sharjah and Ras al Khaimah six, and Ajman, Fujairah and Umm Al Quwain have four.
They bring Emirati issues to the council for debate and put those concerns to ministers summoned for questioning.
The FNC’s main functions include passing, amending or rejecting federal draft laws, discussing international treaties and agreements, and offering recommendations on general subjects raised during sessions.
Federal draft laws must first pass through the FNC for recommendations when members can amend the laws to suit the needs of citizens. The draft laws are then forwarded to the Cabinet for consideration and approval.
Since 2006, half of the members have been elected by UAE citizens to serve four-year terms and the other half are appointed by the Ruler’s Courts of the seven emirates.
In the 2015 elections, 78 of the 252 candidates were women. Women also represented 48 per cent of all voters and 67 per cent of the voters were under the age of 40.
