Mark Webber believes the role Red Bull Racing team owner Dietrich Mateschitz has had in Formula One for the past 10 years has not received the recognition it deserves.
The futures of Red Bull and Toro Rosso, the other F1 team that Mateschitz owns, have been in doubt due to both struggling to find an engine manufacturer to supply them for 2015.
Toro Rosso are expected to use Ferrari power units next season and Red Bull are rumoured to be remaining with Renault, whom they had planned to leave after being disappointed with their performance, only to find Mercedes or Ferrari unwilling to supply them.
Webber, 36, who drove for Red Bull from 2007 to 2013, and won all nine of his races with them, said Mateschitz’s organisation had brought some stability to the grid in the past decade in an era when several teams had deserted the sport.
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In a telephone interview, Webber said of his former employer: “He has employed a huge number of people in his time in F1.
“There have been no defaults, no issues and it has been a sensational contribution to the top-end of motorsport, which a lot of people have been very thankful for and relied on that in a very consistent way and that has to be acknowledged and recognised because it has not always been like that for other teams, as we all well know.
“All those people who have ever worked for him, there has never been a bad word said about working for both those teams. Even when he took on Toro Rosso from Minardi back in the day, just how he did that was completely correct.”
Mateschitz had threatened to withdraw his teams from F1 at the end of the season if they did not have a competitive engine at their disposal for 2016.
While that no longer seems likely, Webber does not blame the Austrian for being disillusioned by the important role engines are now having in the running of F1.
“I think the lack of control is probably the biggest frustration,” he said. “Of being able to plug this gap (to the front of the grid) with a competitive engine and find something that is suitable for them to stay at the front.
“But it is proving extremely difficult, and that is pretty bizarre for the sport, pretty bizarre for Formula One to be in this situation.”
gcaygill@thenational.ae
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Indian construction workers stranded in Ajman with unpaid dues
Dust and sand storms compared
Sand storm
- Particle size: Larger, heavier sand grains
- Visibility: Often dramatic with thick "walls" of sand
- Duration: Short-lived, typically localised
- Travel distance: Limited
- Source: Open desert areas with strong winds
Dust storm
- Particle size: Much finer, lightweight particles
- Visibility: Hazy skies but less intense
- Duration: Can linger for days
- Travel distance: Long-range, up to thousands of kilometres
- Source: Can be carried from distant regions
The specs: Volvo XC40
Price: base / as tested: Dh185,000
Engine: 2.0-litre, turbocharged in-line four-cylinder
Gearbox: Eight-speed automatic
Power: 250hp @ 5,500rpm
Torque: 350Nm @ 1,500rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 10.4L / 100km
The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
Skewed figures
In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458.
RESULT
Copa del Rey, semi-final second leg
Real Madrid 0
Barcelona 3 (Suarez (50', 73' pen), Varane (69' OG)
RESULT
Esperance de Tunis 1 Guadalajara 1
(Esperance won 6-5 on penalties)
Esperance: Belaili 38’
Guadalajara: Sandoval 5’
MATCH INFO
Newcastle United 3
Gayle (23'), Perez (59', 63')
Chelsea 0
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre flat-six
Torque: 450Nm at 6,100rpm
Transmission: 7-speed PDK auto or 6-speed manual
Fuel economy, combined: 13.8L/100km
On sale: Available to order now
Gender pay parity on track in the UAE
The UAE has a good record on gender pay parity, according to Mercer's Total Remuneration Study.
"In some of the lower levels of jobs women tend to be paid more than men, primarily because men are employed in blue collar jobs and women tend to be employed in white collar jobs which pay better," said Ted Raffoul, career products leader, Mena at Mercer. "I am yet to see a company in the UAE – particularly when you are looking at a blue chip multinationals or some of the bigger local companies – that actively discriminates when it comes to gender on pay."
Mr Raffoul said most gender issues are actually due to the cultural class, as the population is dominated by Asian and Arab cultures where men are generally expected to work and earn whereas women are meant to start a family.
"For that reason, we see a different gender gap. There are less women in senior roles because women tend to focus less on this but that’s not due to any companies having a policy penalising women for any reasons – it’s a cultural thing," he said.
As a result, Mr Raffoul said many companies in the UAE are coming up with benefit package programmes to help working mothers and the career development of women in general.
ICC Women's T20 World Cup Asia Qualifier 2025, Thailand
UAE fixtures
May 9, v Malaysia
May 10, v Qatar
May 13, v Malaysia
May 15, v Qatar
May 18 and 19, semi-finals
May 20, final
Test
Director: S Sashikanth
Cast: Nayanthara, Siddharth, Meera Jasmine, R Madhavan
Star rating: 2/5
Why seagrass matters
- Carbon sink: Seagrass sequesters carbon up to 35X faster than tropical rainforests
- Marine nursery: Crucial habitat for juvenile fish, crustations, and invertebrates
- Biodiversity: Support species like sea turtles, dugongs, and seabirds
- Coastal protection: Reduce erosion and improve water quality
The biog
Name: Mohammed Imtiaz
From: Gujranwala, Pakistan
Arrived in the UAE: 1976
Favourite clothes to make: Suit
Cost of a hand-made suit: From Dh550
