In the 2001 Hollywood movie about street racing, The Fast and the Furious, Vin Diesel’s character Dominic Toretto said a line that is perhaps fitting of the current situation in the Formula One drivers’ championship: “Ask any racer. Any real racer. It don’t matter if you win by an inch or a mile. Winning’s winning.”
That is an adage that Nico Rosberg is adhering to and will have fully embraced if he claims the 2016 world title on Sunday at the Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix by finishing second or third behind Mercedes-GP teammate Lewis Hamilton.
That scenario would give Rosberg the title, but would not dampen the view of many in F1, particularly Hamilton, that the Briton has been the faster man over the season, and thus the more worthy champ.
Hamilton is on a roll. The triple world champion has won the past three races, with Rosberg second on each occasion.
But ever since he won in Japan last month to open up a 33-point lead, Rosberg has known he did not need to win another race this season and could still be crowned champion as long as he had three second places and one third in the final four races.
See more from Graham Caygill on the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix:
• Daniel Ricciardo on Monaco, Malaysia, Max Verstappen and making an impact in Abu Dhabi
• Stoffel Vandoorne, lining up alongside Fernando Alonso at McLaren next season, fulfils childhood dream
• Star Wars fan Felipe Nasr aims to strike back next season after 'challenging' 2016
• Schedule and grandstand information for the 2016 Formula One Abu Dhabi Grand Prix
He picked up runners-up spots in the United States and Mexico – failing to match Hamilton for speed at either race – and he was again well beaten by Hamilton in Brazil in wet conditions. His lead is now down to 12 points going into the final round of the season in Abu Dhabi.
The heavy rain in Sao Paulo made life very difficult for most of the grid with several experienced drivers, including former world champions Kimi Raikkonen, Fernando Alonso and Sebastian Vettel, spinning. Rosberg had a big scare himself at one stage as he lost control of his car, but managed to regain control without hitting the wall.
Hamilton was well aware of Rosberg’s drama when he called the victory one of his “easier ones” and described himself as “chilling out” in the treacherous conditions.
Even a compliment to Rosberg had a loaded message in it: “I am happy that with the same car I beat Nico, and Nico is driving at his best right now but today he had nothing on me.”
The message was loud and clear. Hamilton believes he is the quicker driver, and though he may not end the year as champion, he wants to make it clear — in case you missed it – who is the faster Mercedes man.
It may also be an attempt to goad Rosberg into pushing hard in Abu Dhabi to beat him on track, rather than being content to finish second or third behind him.
Only Rosberg knows how hard he pushed in Brazil. He finished 11.4 seconds behind Hamilton despite the numerous safety car periods and race stoppages.
Imagine how daft Rosberg would have looked had he pushed too hard in Interlagos trying to beat Hamilton in a race he did not have to win, crashed out and handed control of the title destiny to the triple world champion.
Whether Rosberg has been the faster man over the season is open to debate, but if he does leave the UAE as champion, he will be a worthy winner, even if Hamilton does not agree.
If Hamilton misses out on a fourth drivers’ title, he will rightly point to having had the worst of the reliability problems in the Mercedes team. Engine problems resulted in grid penalties in China, Russia and Belgium when he would have otherwise started on the front row, and in those races he scored 39 points to 75 for Rosberg, who won all of them.
Then there was Malaysia last month, where Hamilton’s engine blew when he was leading and Rosberg was running fourth. Rosberg went on to finish third, and instead of gaining 13 points on his rival, Hamilton instead lost 15 – a 28-point swing.
What has often been overlooked when picking through Hamilton’s misfortune was that the only reason he was set to take a big chunk of points off Rosberg in Malaysia was because the German had gone to the back of the field on Lap 1 after being spun around by the Ferrari of Sebastian Vettel.
Without that Rosberg would have been running second behind Hamilton when the engine failure happened. He would have won the race, instead of being third, so in may ways it could have been much worse for the Briton.
Hamilton has not been shy to remind people of his bad luck, but he will not be the first driver who was probably the quickest over the season not to be crowned world champion. Ayrton Senna, Nigel Mansell, Mika Hakkinen and Michael Schumacher are among the men who Hamilton would be emulating.
Rosberg has won nine races, the same as Hamilton, and unlike in 2014 and 2015, his previous two failed title bids, he has on occasion beaten the Briton in a straight fight.
His performances in Singapore and Japan were two of the very best of his career, and this has been comfortably the most consistent year of his F1 career.
He may not have had as much misfortune as Hamilton, but he still has had to take advantage of it, and other than his clumsy defensive move on his teammate in Austria, for which he came off worse, he has hardly put a wheel wrong in 2016.
He has qualified on the front row at every race so far, excluding grid penalties, something even Hamilton has been unable to match.
Most motorsports purists would love to see Rosberg, 31, win his fist F1 world championship by taking the chequered flag at Yas Marina Circuit on Sunday, but it will taste just as sweet if he finishes second or third, or if Hamilton fails to finish the race.
For Rosberg the ends justify the means. If Hamilton wins on Sunday he will have more victories in 2016, but as long as Rosberg is on the podium he will not care one iota, because the title is his focus.
The history books years will not have an asterisk against the winner of the championship explaining who had the most non-finishes and problems.
It will simply say the winning driver’s name and if that name is Rosberg then it will be fully deserved.
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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.”
Breaking News: The Remaking of Journalism and Why It Matters Now
Alan Rushbridger, Canongate
Company profile
Name: Oulo.com
Founder: Kamal Nazha
Based: Dubai
Founded: 2020
Number of employees: 5
Sector: Technology
Funding: $450,000
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Abu Dhabi GP schedule
Friday: First practice - 1pm; Second practice - 5pm
Saturday: Final practice - 2pm; Qualifying - 5pm
Sunday: Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix (55 laps) - 5.10pm
Electric scooters: some rules to remember
- Riders must be 14-years-old or over
- Wear a protective helmet
- Park the electric scooter in designated parking lots (if any)
- Do not leave electric scooter in locations that obstruct traffic or pedestrians
- Solo riders only, no passengers allowed
- Do not drive outside designated lanes
ESSENTIALS
The flights
Emirates, Etihad and Swiss fly direct from the UAE to Zurich from Dh2,855 return, including taxes.
The chalet
Chalet N is currently open in winter only, between now and April 21. During the ski season, starting on December 11, a week’s rental costs from €210,000 (Dh898,431) per week for the whole property, which has 22 beds in total, across six suites, three double rooms and a children’s suite. The price includes all scheduled meals, a week’s ski pass, Wi-Fi, parking, transfers between Munich, Innsbruck or Zurich airports and one 50-minute massage per person. Private ski lessons cost from €360 (Dh1,541) per day. Halal food is available on request.
Keane on …
Liverpool’s Uefa Champions League bid: “They’re great. With the attacking force they have, for me, they’re certainly one of the favourites. You look at the teams left in it - they’re capable of scoring against anybody at any given time. Defensively they’ve been good, so I don’t see any reason why they couldn’t go on and win it.”
Mohamed Salah’s debut campaign at Anfield: “Unbelievable. He’s been phenomenal. You can name the front three, but for him on a personal level, he’s been unreal. He’s been great to watch and hopefully he can continue now until the end of the season - which I’m sure he will, because he’s been in fine form. He’s been incredible this season.”
Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s instant impact at former club LA Galaxy: “Brilliant. It’s been a great start for him and for the club. They were crying out for another big name there. They were lacking that, for the prestige of LA Galaxy. And now they have one of the finest stars. I hope they can go win something this year.”
RESULT
Uruguay 3 Russia 0
Uruguay: Suárez (10'), Cheryshev (23' og), Cavani (90')
Russia: Smolnikov (Red card: 36')
Man of the match: Diego Godin (Uruguay)
COMPANY PROFILE
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Total funding: Self funded
If you go
Where to stay: Courtyard by Marriott Titusville Kennedy Space Centre has unparalleled views of the Indian River. Alligators can be spotted from hotel room balconies, as can several rocket launch sites. The hotel also boasts cool space-themed decor.
When to go: Florida is best experienced during the winter months, from November to May, before the humidity kicks in.
How to get there: Emirates currently flies from Dubai to Orlando five times a week.
Plan to boost public schools
A major shake-up of government-run schools was rolled out across the country in 2017. Known as the Emirati School Model, it placed more emphasis on maths and science while also adding practical skills to the curriculum.
It was accompanied by the promise of a Dh5 billion investment, over six years, to pay for state-of-the-art infrastructure improvements.
Aspects of the school model will be extended to international private schools, the education minister has previously suggested.
Recent developments have also included the introduction of moral education - which public and private schools both must teach - along with reform of the exams system and tougher teacher licensing requirements.
QUALIFYING RESULTS
1. Max Verstappen, Netherlands, Red Bull Racing Honda, 1 minute, 35.246 seconds.
2. Valtteri Bottas, Finland, Mercedes, 1:35.271.
3. Lewis Hamilton, Great Britain, Mercedes, 1:35.332.
4. Lando Norris, Great Britain, McLaren Renault, 1:35.497.
5. Alexander Albon, Thailand, Red Bull Racing Honda, 1:35.571.
6. Carlos Sainz Jr, Spain, McLaren Renault, 1:35.815.
7. Daniil Kvyat, Russia, Scuderia Toro Rosso Honda, 1:35.963.
8. Lance Stroll, Canada, Racing Point BWT Mercedes, 1:36.046.
9. Charles Leclerc, Monaco, Ferrari, 1:36.065.
10. Pierre Gasly, France, Scuderia Toro Rosso Honda, 1:36.242.
Eliminated after second session
11. Esteban Ocon, France, Renault, 1:36.359.
12. Daniel Ricciardo, Australia, Renault, 1:36.406.
13. Sebastian Vettel, Germany, Ferrari, 1:36.631.
14. Antonio Giovinazzi, Italy, Alfa Romeo Racing Ferrari, 1:38.248.
Eliminated after first session
15. Antonio Giovinazzi, Italy, Alfa Romeo Racing Ferrari, 1:37.075.
16. Kimi Raikkonen, Finland, Alfa Romeo Racing Ferrari, 1:37.555.
17. Kevin Magnussen, Denmark, Haas Ferrari, 1:37.863.
18. George Russell, Great Britain, Williams Mercedes, 1:38.045.
19. Pietro Fittipaldi, Brazil, Haas Ferrari, 1:38.173.
20. Nicholas Latifi, Canada, Williams Mercedes, 1:38.443.
Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
