Red Bull Racing driver Max Verstappen won the picturesque Monaco Grand Prix on Sunday to lead the world championship for the first time this season.
Verstappen capitalised on Ferrari pole-sitter Charles Leclerc's last-minute withdrawal from the race. The Monegasque driver's chances of winning his home race ended when he was forced to pull out due to a gearbox problem.
Ferrari's Carlos Sainz finished second with Lando Norris of McLaren completing the podium.
Verstappen darted in front of Valtteri Bottas and led from start to finish for his second win of the season and 12th of his career. The Red Bull driver took a four-point lead over seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton in the standings.
“That was a master class and you’re leading the championship. Well done, mate,” Red Bull team principal Christian Horner radioed to Verstappen as he crossed the finish line.
It is the first time since the German Grand Prix in 2018 that Mercedes have not led the championship. Hamilton finished seventh on an uncharacteristically bad day for the usually reliable Mercedes team.
Bottas retired from the race after a right-front wheel stub axle was stripped during his pit stop and Mercedes could not remove the tire.
Red Bull's Verstappen displaced Lewis Hamilton in the drivers' standings after the Mercedes driver finished in seventh position.
“It is so special to win here. Of course, I’m very proud,” Verstappen said. “But I’m thinking ahead to the rest of the season.”
He was then greeted by tennis star Serena Williams, who waved the chequered flag and was an honorary guest at the event.
“It’s so special around here to win. It’s my first time on the podium here,” said Verstappen, whose father Jos secured two podiums in 106 F1 races and was seven-time champion Michael Schumacher’s teammate at Benetton. “I remember when I was very little, you always want to win this one.”
Verstappen finished 8.9 seconds ahead of Sainz in Ferrari. Norris scored his third career podium the same week he signed a contract extension with McLaren.
“I don’t know what to say, it’s a dream to be on the podium here,” 21-year-old British driver Norris. “I didn’t think it was going to happen. I’ll cherish it.”
Sergio Perez was fourth for Red Bull, which moved back on top of the constructors championship ahead of Mercedes.
Mercedes have won the last seven drivers’ and constructors’ championships, but yesterday marked the first time in five races this season that Hamilton and Verstappen did not finish 1-2.
Hamilton, who was facing an uphill task, took aim at Mercedes after he became the first of the leading pack to stop for tyres on Lap 29 of 78.
He emerged from the pits in eighth, and then saw both the Aston Martin of Sebastian Vettel and Red Bull’s Perez rejoin ahead of him after they changed for rubber several laps later. “I don’t understand, guys,” said Hamilton on the radio. “I saved the tyres to go longer and we stopped before everyone.”
Hamilton’s race engineer Peter Bonnington then had to deliver the grim news that Perez was also ahead of him on the track.
“We have lost the position to Perez, too,” Bonnington said. “Sorry about that.”
Leclerc’s chances of winning his home race from pole position ended when he pulled off track with a gearbox problem. He crashed with 18 seconds remaining in Saturday qualifying and risked a five-place grid penalty if Ferrari changed his gearbox.
The team initially said Leclerc was good to go and the gearbox was fine, but about 20 minutes before the race Leclerc drove to the garage. Two years ago, Leclerc retired early in Monaco in his first season at Ferrari.
The race director decided not to move Verstappen up from second to pole and left that space blank, giving Bottas more room to overtake on the inside. He never got the chance as Verstappen pounced at the start.
Game Changer
Director: Shankar
Stars: Ram Charan, Kiara Advani, Anjali, S J Suryah, Jayaram
Rating: 2/5
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Martin Sabbagh profile
Job: CEO JCDecaux Middle East
In the role: Since January 2015
Lives: In the UAE
Background: M&A, investment banking
Studied: Corporate finance
Naga
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%C2%A0%3C%2Fstrong%3EMeshal%20Al%20Jaser%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarring%3A%C2%A0%3C%2Fstrong%3EAdwa%20Bader%2C%20Yazeed%20Almajyul%2C%20Khalid%20Bin%20Shaddad%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E4%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Groom and Two Brides
Director: Elie Semaan
Starring: Abdullah Boushehri, Laila Abdallah, Lulwa Almulla
Rating: 3/5
ENGLAND SQUAD
Joe Root (c), Moeen Ali, Jimmy Anderson, Jonny Bairstow, Stuart Broad, Jos Buttler, Alastair Cook, Sam Curran, Keaton Jennings, Ollie Pope, Adil Rashid, Ben Stokes, James Vince, Chris Woakes
Results
Female 49kg: Mayssa Bastos (BRA) bt Thamires Aquino (BRA); points 0-0 (advantage points points 1-0).
Female 55kg: Bianca Basilio (BRA) bt Amal Amjahid (BEL); points 4-2.
Female 62kg: Beatriz Mesquita (BRA) v Ffion Davies (GBR); 10-2.
Female 70kg: Thamara Silva (BRA) bt Alessandra Moss (AUS); submission.
Female 90kg: Gabreili Passanha (BRA) bt Claire-France Thevenon (FRA); submission.
Male 56kg: Hiago George (BRA) bt Carlos Alberto da Silva (BRA); 2-2 (2-0)
Male 62kg: Gabriel de Sousa (BRA) bt Joao Miyao (BRA); 2-2 (2-1)
Male 69kg: Paulo Miyao (BRA) bt Isaac Doederlein (USA); 2-2 (2-2) Ref decision.
Male 77kg: Tommy Langarkar (NOR) by Oliver Lovell (GBR); submission.
Male 85kg: Rudson Mateus Teles (BRA) bt Faisal Al Ketbi (UAE); 2-2 (1-1) Ref decision.
Male 94kg: Kaynan Duarte (BRA) bt Adam Wardzinski (POL); submission.
Male 110kg: Joao Rocha (BRA) bt Yahia Mansoor Al Hammadi (UAE); submission.
AI traffic lights to ease congestion at seven points to Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Street
The seven points are:
Shakhbout bin Sultan Street
Dhafeer Street
Hadbat Al Ghubainah Street (outbound)
Salama bint Butti Street
Al Dhafra Street
Rabdan Street
Umm Yifina Street exit (inbound)
Tonight's Chat on The National
Tonight's Chat is a series of online conversations on The National. The series features a diverse range of celebrities, politicians and business leaders from around the Arab world.
Tonight’s Chat host Ricardo Karam is a renowned author and broadcaster who has previously interviewed Bill Gates, Carlos Ghosn, Andre Agassi and the late Zaha Hadid, among others.
Intellectually curious and thought-provoking, Tonight’s Chat moves the conversation forward.
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The biog
From: Upper Egypt
Age: 78
Family: a daughter in Egypt; a son in Dubai and his wife, Nabila
Favourite Abu Dhabi activity: walking near to Emirates Palace
Favourite building in Abu Dhabi: Emirates Palace
Tax authority targets shisha levy evasion
The Federal Tax Authority will track shisha imports with electronic markers to protect customers and ensure levies have been paid.
Khalid Ali Al Bustani, director of the tax authority, on Sunday said the move is to "prevent tax evasion and support the authority’s tax collection efforts".
The scheme’s first phase, which came into effect on 1st January, 2019, covers all types of imported and domestically produced and distributed cigarettes. As of May 1, importing any type of cigarettes without the digital marks will be prohibited.
He said the latest phase will see imported and locally produced shisha tobacco tracked by the final quarter of this year.
"The FTA also maintains ongoing communication with concerned companies, to help them adapt their systems to meet our requirements and coordinate between all parties involved," he said.
As with cigarettes, shisha was hit with a 100 per cent tax in October 2017, though manufacturers and cafes absorbed some of the costs to prevent prices doubling.
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
FIXTURES
Monday, January 28
Iran v Japan, Hazza bin Zayed Stadium (6pm)
Tuesday, January 29
UAEv Qatar, Mohamed Bin Zayed Stadium (6pm)
Friday, February 1
Final, Zayed Sports City Stadium (6pm)
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