Caterham drivers Marcus Ericsson, left, and Kamui Kobayashi drive at the Silverstone circuit in Silverstone on July 6, 2014 during the British Formula One Grand Prix. AFP PHOTO / TOM GANDOLFINI
Caterham drivers Marcus Ericsson, left, and Kamui Kobayashi drive at the Silverstone circuit in Silverstone on July 6, 2014 during the British Formula One Grand Prix. AFP PHOTO / TOM GANDOLFINI
Caterham drivers Marcus Ericsson, left, and Kamui Kobayashi drive at the Silverstone circuit in Silverstone on July 6, 2014 during the British Formula One Grand Prix. AFP PHOTO / TOM GANDOLFINI
Caterham drivers Marcus Ericsson, left, and Kamui Kobayashi drive at the Silverstone circuit in Silverstone on July 6, 2014 during the British Formula One Grand Prix. AFP PHOTO / TOM GANDOLFINI

Financial support from fans keep Caterham afloat for Abu Dhabi Grand Prix


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ABU DHABI // There will be 20 cars on the grid for Sunday’s Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix as Caterham have made the stage despite their financial woes, a situation that even surprised one of their drivers, Kamui Kobayashi.

The team, who are 11th and last in the constructors’ standings with no points scored in 2014, went into administration last month, missed the past two races in the United States and Brazil, and this week made 230 staff redundant.

But an appeal to the public and from investors to raise £2.35 million (Dh13.7m) through an online crowd-funding effort has them ready to go at Yas Marina Circuit and trying to secure a long-term future for the team, which has been on the grid since 2010.

While the fund only raised £1.8m, sponsors reportedly made up the shortfall with a staff of about 40 travelling to the UAE to get the cars on the track.

With Marcus Ericsson having pulled out of the race, Kobayashi will line-up on the grid on Sunday with debutant British driver Will Stevens as his ­teammate.

Kobayashi, who drove with the team in the first 16 events of the season, acknowledged he had not expected to be in Abu Dhabi to race this weekend

“I saw it was very difficult because when I saw the crowd-funding stuff I think it didn’t really reach the target, but I have to thank the fans and the sponsors for the support,” the Japanese driver said.

“I really appreciate being here. I think our target is to finish the race and see where we are. I’m very proud to be here, even in a very difficult situation, still surviving for last place.”

Stevens, who won two races in the Formula Renault 3.5 series this season to finish in fourth place in that competition, said: “I’m absolutely thrilled to be getting this opportunity and am very grateful to everyone involved at Caterham F1 team for giving it to me.

“I feel ready for the challenge of my F1 debut and look forward to working as part of the team in a race environment after all the work we’ve done together previously in the tests I’ve completed and back at Leafield in the simulator.”

Constructors’ championship standings

Mercedes-GP, 651 pts

Red Bull Racing, 373

Williams-Mercedes, 254

Ferrari, 210

McLaren-Mercedes, 161

Force India-Mercedes, 127

Toro Rosso-Renault, 30

Lotus-Renault, 10

Marussia-Ferrari, 2

Sauber-Ferrari, 0

Caterham-Renault, 0

gcaygill@thenational.ae

Follow our sports coverage on twitter at @SprtNationalUAE

The bio

Favourite food: Japanese

Favourite car: Lamborghini

Favourite hobby: Football

Favourite quote: If your dreams don’t scare you, they are not big enough

Favourite country: UAE

The specs
 
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo
Power: 398hp from 5,250rpm
Torque: 580Nm at 1,900-4,800rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L/100km
On sale: December
Price: From Dh330,000 (estimate)
German plea
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told the German parliament that. Russia had erected a new wall across Europe. 

"It's not a Berlin Wall -- it is a Wall in central Europe between freedom and bondage and this Wall is growing bigger with every bomb" dropped on Ukraine, Zelenskyy told MPs.

Mr Zelenskyy was applauded by MPs in the Bundestag as he addressed Chancellor Olaf Scholz directly.

"Dear Mr Scholz, tear down this Wall," he said, evoking US President Ronald Reagan's 1987 appeal to Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev at Berlin's Brandenburg Gate.

'THE WORST THING YOU CAN EAT'

Trans fat is typically found in fried and baked goods, but you may be consuming more than you think.

Powdered coffee creamer, microwave popcorn and virtually anything processed with a crust is likely to contain it, as this guide from Mayo Clinic outlines: 

Baked goods - Most cakes, cookies, pie crusts and crackers contain shortening, which is usually made from partially hydrogenated vegetable oil. Ready-made frosting is another source of trans fat.

Snacks - Potato, corn and tortilla chips often contain trans fat. And while popcorn can be a healthy snack, many types of packaged or microwave popcorn use trans fat to help cook or flavour the popcorn.

Fried food - Foods that require deep frying — french fries, doughnuts and fried chicken — can contain trans fat from the oil used in the cooking process.

Refrigerator dough - Products such as canned biscuits and cinnamon rolls often contain trans fat, as do frozen pizza crusts.

Creamer and margarine - Nondairy coffee creamer and stick margarines also may contain partially hydrogenated vegetable oils.

Results

1. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) 1hr 32mins 03.897sec

2. Max Verstappen (Red Bull-Honda) at 0.745s

3. Valtteri Bottas (Mercedes) 37.383s

4. Lando Norris (McLaren) 46.466s

5.Sergio Perez (Red Bull-Honda) 52.047s

6. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) 59.090s

7. Daniel Ricciardo (McLaren) 1:06.004

8. Carlos Sainz Jr (Ferrari) 1:07.100

9. Yuki Tsunoda (AlphaTauri-Honda) 1:25.692

10. Lance Stroll (Aston Martin-Mercedes) 1:26.713,

HAJJAN
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Illegal%20shipments%20intercepted%20in%20Gulf%20region
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How Filipinos in the UAE invest

A recent survey of 10,000 Filipino expatriates in the UAE found that 82 per cent have plans to invest, primarily in property. This is significantly higher than the 2014 poll showing only two out of 10 Filipinos planned to invest.

Fifty-five percent said they plan to invest in property, according to the poll conducted by the New Perspective Media Group, organiser of the Philippine Property and Investment Exhibition. Acquiring a franchised business or starting up a small business was preferred by 25 per cent and 15 per cent said they will invest in mutual funds. The rest said they are keen to invest in insurance (3 per cent) and gold (2 per cent).

Of the 5,500 respondents who preferred property as their primary investment, 54 per cent said they plan to make the purchase within the next year. Manila was the top location, preferred by 53 per cent.

PREMIER LEAGUE STATS

Romelu Lukaku's goalscoring statistics in the Premier League 
Season/club/appearances (substitute)/goals

2011/12 Chelsea: 8(7) - 0
2012/13 West Brom (loan): 35(15) - 17
2013/14 Chelsea: 2(2) - 0
2013/14 Everton (loan): 31(2) - 15
2014/15 Everton: 36(4) - 10
2015/16 Everton: 37(1) - 18
2016/17 Everton: 37(1) - 25  

'Midnights'
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EArtist%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Taylor%20Swift%26nbsp%3B%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ELabel%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Republic%20Records%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%204%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Five films to watch

Castle in the Sky (1986)

Grave of the Fireflies (1988)

Only Yesterday (1991)

Pom Poki (1994)

The Tale of Princess Kaguya (2013)

THE TWIN BIO

Their favourite city: Dubai

Their favourite food: Khaleeji

Their favourite past-time : walking on the beach

Their favorite quote: ‘we rise by lifting others’ by Robert Ingersoll

Results

Final: Iran beat Spain 6-3.

Play-off 3rd: UAE beat Russia 2-1 (in extra time).

Play-off 5th: Japan beat Egypt 7-2.

Play-off 7th: Italy beat Mexico 3-2.