There are many uncertainties heading into this weekend’s Malaysian Grand Prix, but the identity of the winning car is not one of them.
So pronounced was Mercedes's dominance through 2014 and in the Formula One season opener in Australia earlier this month, that it is hard to imagine anything other than another race victory for the Silver Arrows at Sepang on Sunday, and probably a one-two finish.
Still, there are many other questions to be answered in Malaysia: will Lewis Hamilton sign a new Mercedes contract before the race?; will Fernando Alonso be passed fit to drive his first race back at McLaren?; has Valtteri Bottas overcome the back injury that ruled him out of Melbourne?; will Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel call Mercedes’s bluff and turn up for that team’s Friday engineers briefing?; and is this the last ever Malaysian Grand Prix?
The fight over the race win looms as another showdown between Mercedes teammates Hamilton and Nico Rosberg. Since their collision at last year’s Belgian Grand Prix, the Mercedes team have won every race, but worryingly for Rosberg, seven of the eight victories have been by the Briton.
Hamilton is out of contract at year’s end but the negotiations over a new deal are reaching a conclusion, and he may even have a fresh contract by the time he hits the track at Sepang.
“It is going back between the lawyers so hopefully it is done before the weekend,” Hamilton said on Sky Sports. “That would be great, but if not, in due time.”
Alonso arrives in Malaysia having skipped the Australian race as a precaution due to the lingering effects of an accident in pre-season testing.
Alonso passed some initial tests in England last weekend, but faces further examination on Thursday by doctors appointed by the FIA and local race organisers.
Given how far off the pace McLaren were in Australia as returning engine suppliers Honda get up to speed with the complex hybrid-energy power trains, the most interest in Alonso will not be how he performs on the track, but any revelations about his medical condition and the nature of the pre-season crash, which remains the subject of an ongoing FIA investigation.
Bottas too will have to pass a fitness test on Thursday. The Williams driver suffered a torn disc in his lower back during qualifying in Melbourne and had to sit out the race. The Finn has been recovering and holidaying in Indonesia and Malaysia since leaving Australia and has expressed confidence he is ready to race.
This year’s race is the last on the current contract for the Malaysian Grand Prix, and the likelihood of a return in 2016 seems in the balance judging by the comments of Sepang chairman Mokhzani Mahathir.
“We want a win-win situation,” he was quoted to say by the local Bernama news agency. “There are several issues which I’m still not very satisfied, and if we can discuss this further, we will renew the contract for another three years.”
Aside from the serious questions to be answered, the fun will be in seeing whether Vettel visits the Mercedes post-practice briefing on Friday. He was jokingly invited by Rosberg during the post-race media conference in Melbourne when the Mercedes driver said he wanted a close fight for the championship, and the new Ferrari driver said he’d take up the offer.
Rosberg stood by the invitation in Mercedes’s pre-race press release, saying he was, “particularly looking forward to welcoming our special guest Mr Vettel to the Friday engineering meeting. I’m sure we will all learn a few interesting things for the weekend”.
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Results
5pm: UAE Martyrs Cup (TB) Conditions Dh90,000 2,200m
Winner: Mudaarab, Jim Crowley (jockey), Erwan Charpy (trainer).
5.30pm: Wathba Stallions Cup (PA) Handicap Dh70,000 1,400m
Winner: Jawal Al Reef, Richard Mullen, Hassan Al Hammadi.
6pm: UAE Matyrs Trophy (PA) Maiden Dh80,000 1,600m
Winner: Salima Al Reef, Jesus Rosales, Abdallah Al Hammadi.
6.30pm: Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak (IFAHR) Apprentice Championship (PA) Prestige Dh100,000 1,600m
Winner: Bainoona, Ricardo Iacopini, Eric Lemartinel.
7pm: Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak (IFAHR) Ladies World Championship (PA) Prestige Dh125,000 1,600m
Winner: Assyad, Victoria Larsen, Eric Lemartinel.
8pm: Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan Jewel Crown (PA) Group 1 Dh5,000,000 1,600m
Winner: Mashhur Al Khalediah, Jean-Bernard Eyquem, Phillip Collington.
THE LOWDOWN
Photograph
Rating: 4/5
Produced by: Poetic License Motion Pictures; RSVP Movies
Director: Ritesh Batra
Cast: Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Sanya Malhotra, Farrukh Jaffar, Deepak Chauhan, Vijay Raaz
F1 The Movie
Starring: Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Javier Bardem
Director: Joseph Kosinski
Rating: 4/5
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Start-up hopes to end Japan's love affair with cash
Across most of Asia, people pay for taxi rides, restaurant meals and merchandise with smartphone-readable barcodes — except in Japan, where cash still rules. Now, as the country’s biggest web companies race to dominate the payments market, one Tokyo-based startup says it has a fighting chance to win with its QR app.
Origami had a head start when it introduced a QR-code payment service in late 2015 and has since signed up fast-food chain KFC, Tokyo’s largest cab company Nihon Kotsu and convenience store operator Lawson. The company raised $66 million in September to expand nationwide and plans to more than double its staff of about 100 employees, says founder Yoshiki Yasui.
Origami is betting that stores, which until now relied on direct mail and email newsletters, will pay for the ability to reach customers on their smartphones. For example, a hair salon using Origami’s payment app would be able to send a message to past customers with a coupon for their next haircut.
Quick Response codes, the dotted squares that can be read by smartphone cameras, were invented in the 1990s by a unit of Toyota Motor to track automotive parts. But when the Japanese pioneered digital payments almost two decades ago with contactless cards for train fares, they chose the so-called near-field communications technology. The high cost of rolling out NFC payments, convenient ATMs and a culture where lost wallets are often returned have all been cited as reasons why cash remains king in the archipelago. In China, however, QR codes dominate.
Cashless payments, which includes credit cards, accounted for just 20 per cent of total consumer spending in Japan during 2016, compared with 60 per cent in China and 89 per cent in South Korea, according to a report by the Bank of Japan.
Ten tax points to be aware of in 2026
1. Domestic VAT refund amendments: request your refund within five years
If a business does not apply for the refund on time, they lose their credit.
2. E-invoicing in the UAE
Businesses should continue preparing for the implementation of e-invoicing in the UAE, with 2026 a preparation and transition period ahead of phased mandatory adoption.
3. More tax audits
Tax authorities are increasingly using data already available across multiple filings to identify audit risks.
4. More beneficial VAT and excise tax penalty regime
Tax disputes are expected to become more frequent and more structured, with clearer administrative objection and appeal processes. The UAE has adopted a new penalty regime for VAT and excise disputes, which now mirrors the penalty regime for corporate tax.
5. Greater emphasis on statutory audit
There is a greater need for the accuracy of financial statements. The International Financial Reporting Standards standards need to be strictly adhered to and, as a result, the quality of the audits will need to increase.
6. Further transfer pricing enforcement
Transfer pricing enforcement, which refers to the practice of establishing prices for internal transactions between related entities, is expected to broaden in scope. The UAE will shortly open the possibility to negotiate advance pricing agreements, or essentially rulings for transfer pricing purposes.
7. Limited time periods for audits
Recent amendments also introduce a default five-year limitation period for tax audits and assessments, subject to specific statutory exceptions. While the standard audit and assessment period is five years, this may be extended to up to 15 years in cases involving fraud or tax evasion.
8. Pillar 2 implementation
Many multinational groups will begin to feel the practical effect of the Domestic Minimum Top-Up Tax (DMTT), the UAE's implementation of the OECD’s global minimum tax under Pillar 2. While the rules apply for financial years starting on or after January 1, 2025, it is 2026 that marks the transition to an operational phase.
9. Reduced compliance obligations for imported goods and services
Businesses that apply the reverse-charge mechanism for VAT purposes in the UAE may benefit from reduced compliance obligations.
10. Substance and CbC reporting focus
Tax authorities are expected to continue strengthening the enforcement of economic substance and Country-by-Country (CbC) reporting frameworks. In the UAE, these regimes are increasingly being used as risk-assessment tools, providing tax authorities with a comprehensive view of multinational groups’ global footprints and enabling them to assess whether profits are aligned with real economic activity.
Contributed by Thomas Vanhee and Hend Rashwan, Aurifer
