Everyone had hoped before Australia that the racing would be an improvement on Bahrain and thanks to that little sprinkling of rain just before the start of the race, that's exactly what we got.
The early laps were very entertaining, but the race remained exciting even after the track had dried out as cars battled for position and the different pit strategies played out. It was a big weekend for Jenson Button as he needed to establish himself after a poor opening race in Bahrain and he came up with the goods by winning his first race for McLaren-Mercedes with an excellent drive.
He had a bit of luck with surviving his first corner collision with the Ferrari of Fernando Alonso, which I believe was simply a racing incident, and then the problem that put the leader Sebastian Vettel out, but he was well worth the victory.
He made the call to come in and change to dry tyres before anyone else and it paid off as he vaulted up the order and was able to take advantage of the brake problem that put Vettel's Red Bull-Renault in the gravel.
It was entirely his call. He did not rely on his team to make it and that was important. Ultimately despite all the data that the mechanics and engineers may have on the pit wall, it is the driver who is actually in the car and has the best feeling of the conditions and how the car and tyres are handling them.
Button felt his car wasn't working on the intermediates and made the call to change. This is a big win for him as it will only help the world champion grow in confidence with his new team.
On the other hand you have Lewis Hamilton, his teammate, who relies on his team for strategy and guidance on when to pit and that cost him the race.
He stayed out longer than Jenson and waited to be called in and then pitted when sitting behind Robert Kubica's Renault as the team saw on the lap charts the speed of Mark Webber and Nico Rosberg, who had already stopped again and were going one second a lap quicker than Hamilton.
Having seen Lewis overtake a number of cars earlier on McLaren were expecting him to do more of the same, but he was now up against the quicker cars and when he finally caught Alonso there was no way through and the strategy did not pay off.
Lewis needs to learn from this and start thinking for himself. In China two years ago he lost the world championship. He stayed out on a drying track when the tyres were clearly gone. He stayed out and crashed coming into the pits when he finally did stop. What he should have been doing is telling the team "I can't drive on these tyres" and come in rather than wait for them to make the decision. Lewis needs to rely less on the team and start making his own calls.
It was a frustrating weekend for Red Bull as unreliability again cost them a race victory after they had clearly been the quickest cars.
Vettel has been in charge of both races so far this season and only has one fourth place to show for it.
It is beginning to look reminiscent of last year when Red Bull arguably had the fastest car over the whole season but lost both championships because of early season mistakes. They need to resolve the reliability issues and quickly, and that is going to be difficult as they now travel to Malaysia for next weekend's race.
The one thing going for them is that the car is very fast and that when Sebastian does get in front, he disappears up the road. If the car can finish reliably then he will win races, but until then the more points he drops the more he is allowing his rivals to edge ahead and gain what could prove to be insurmountable points on him.
Fernando drove a very good race for fourth and it was interesting how different he sounded to a couple of years ago. He was very relaxed and said it was good that he had battled with Felipe Massa, his teammate, and not emerged the victor and that was certainly not something you would have heard him say when he was at McLaren.
He seems to have settled in well at Ferrari and appears to be enjoying his new surroundings, and it shows in his driving as he came back from being last after the first corner following the incident with Jenson.
The Ferraris look very quick and while they may not be as fast as the Red Bulls they are definitely the second quickest package out there.
@Email:sports@thenational.ae
Poacher
Director: Richie Mehta
Starring: Nimisha Sajayan, Roshan Mathew, Dibyendu Bhattacharya
Rating: 3/5
Bob Marley: One Love
Director: Reinaldo Marcus Green
Starring: Kingsley Ben-Adir, Lashana Lynch, James Norton
Rating: 2/5
The specs
Engine: 2.3-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 299hp at 5,500rpm
Torque: 420Nm at 2,750rpm
Transmission: 10-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 12.4L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh157,395 (XLS); Dh199,395 (Limited)
The specs
Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
Power: 620hp from 5,750-7,500rpm
Torque: 760Nm from 3,000-5,750rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed dual-clutch auto
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh1.05 million ($286,000)
Hotel Silence
Auður Ava Ólafsdóttir
Pushkin Press
Law 41.9.4 of men’s T20I playing conditions
The fielding side shall be ready to start each over within 60 seconds of the previous over being completed.
An electronic clock will be displayed at the ground that counts down seconds from 60 to zero.
The clock is not required or, if already started, can be cancelled if:
• A new batter comes to the wicket between overs.
• An official drinks interval has been called.
• The umpires have approved the on field treatment of an injury to a batter or fielder.
• The time lost is for any circumstances beyond the control of the fielding side.
• The third umpire starts the clock either when the ball has become dead at the end of the previous over, or a review has been completed.
• The team gets two warnings if they are not ready to start overs after the clock reaches zero.
• On the third and any subsequent occasion in an innings, the bowler’s end umpire awards five runs.
Representing UAE overseas
If Catherine Richards debuts for Wales in the Six Nations, she will be the latest to have made it from the UAE to the top tier of the international game in the oval ball codes.
Seren Gough-Walters (Wales rugby league)
Born in Dubai, raised in Sharjah, and once an immigration officer at the British Embassy in Abu Dhabi, she debuted for Wales in rugby league in 2021.
Sophie Shams (England sevens)
With an Emirati father and English mother, Shams excelled at rugby at school in Dubai, and went on to represent England on the sevens circuit.
Fiona Reidy (Ireland)
Made her Test rugby bow for Ireland against England in 2015, having played for four years in the capital with Abu Dhabi Harlequins previously.
GRAN TURISMO
Director: Neill Blomkamp
Stars: David Harbour, Orlando Bloom, Archie Madekwe, Darren Barnet
Rating: 3/5
Pros and cons of BNPL
Pros
- Easy to use and require less rigorous credit checks than traditional credit options
- Offers the ability to spread the cost of purchases over time, often interest-free
- Convenient and can be integrated directly into the checkout process, useful for online shopping
- Helps facilitate cash flow planning when used wisely
Cons
- The ease of making purchases can lead to overspending and accumulation of debt
- Missing payments can result in hefty fees and, in some cases, high interest rates after an initial interest-free period
- Failure to make payments can impact credit score negatively
- Refunds can be complicated and delayed
Courtesy: Carol Glynn
The Little Mermaid
Director: Rob Marshall
Stars: Halle Bailey, Jonah Hauer-King, Melissa McCarthy, Javier Bardem
Rating: 2/5
Company profile
Company name: Fasset
Started: 2019
Founders: Mohammad Raafi Hossain, Daniel Ahmed
Based: Dubai
Sector: FinTech
Initial investment: $2.45 million
Current number of staff: 86
Investment stage: Pre-series B
Investors: Investcorp, Liberty City Ventures, Fatima Gobi Ventures, Primal Capital, Wealthwell Ventures, FHS Capital, VN2 Capital, local family offices
UAE'S YOUNG GUNS
1 Esha Oza, age 26, 79 matches
2 Theertha Satish, age 20, 66 matches
3 Khushi Sharma, age 21, 65 matches
4 Kavisha Kumari, age 21, 79 matches
5 Heena Hotchandani, age 23, 16 matches
6 Rinitha Rajith, age 18, 34 matches
7 Samaira Dharnidharka, age 17, 53 matches
8 Vaishnave Mahesh, age 17, 68 matches
9 Lavanya Keny, age 17, 33 matches
10 Siya Gokhale, age 18, 33 matches
11 Indhuja Nandakumar, age 18, 46 matches
Dengue fever symptoms
- High fever
- Intense pain behind your eyes
- Severe headache
- Muscle and joint pains
- Nausea
- Vomiting
- Swollen glands
- Rash
If symptoms occur, they usually last for two-seven days
Herc's Adventures
Developer: Big Ape Productions
Publisher: LucasArts
Console: PlayStation 1 & 5, Sega Saturn
Rating: 4/5
Seven Winters in Tehran
Director : Steffi Niederzoll
Starring: Reyhaneh Jabbari, Shole Pakravan, Zar Amir Ebrahimi
Rating: 4/5
THE BIO
Ms Al Ameri likes the variety of her job, and the daily environmental challenges she is presented with.
Regular contact with wildlife is the most appealing part of her role at the Environment Agency Abu Dhabi.
She loves to explore new destinations and lives by her motto of being a voice in the world, and not an echo.
She is the youngest of three children, and has a brother and sister.
Her favourite book, Moby Dick by Herman Melville helped inspire her towards a career exploring the natural world.
The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder MHEV
Power: 360bhp
Torque: 500Nm
Transmission: eight-speed automatic
Price: from Dh282,870
On sale: now
Frida
Director: Carla Gutierrez
Starring: Frida Kahlo
Rating: 4/5
Safety 'top priority' for rival hyperloop company
The chief operating officer of Hyperloop Transportation Technologies, Andres de Leon, said his company's hyperloop technology is “ready” and safe.
He said the company prioritised safety throughout its development and, last year, Munich Re, one of the world's largest reinsurance companies, announced it was ready to insure their technology.
“Our levitation, propulsion, and vacuum technology have all been developed [...] over several decades and have been deployed and tested at full scale,” he said in a statement to The National.
“Only once the system has been certified and approved will it move people,” he said.
HyperloopTT has begun designing and engineering processes for its Abu Dhabi projects and hopes to break ground soon.
With no delivery date yet announced, Mr de Leon said timelines had to be considered carefully, as government approval, permits, and regulations could create necessary delays.
Results
- Brock Lesnar retained the WWE Universal title against Roman Reigns
- Braun Strowman and Nicolas won the Raw Tag Team titles against Sheamus and Cesaro
- AJ Styles retained the WWE World Heavyweight title against Shinsuke Nakamura
- Nia Jax won the Raw Women’s title against Alexa Bliss
- Daniel Bryan and Shane McMahon beat Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn
- The Undertaker beat John Cena
- The Bludgeon Brothers won the SmackDown Tag Team titles against the Usos and New Day
- Ronda Rousey and Kurt Angle beat Triple H and Stephanie McMahon
- Jinder Mahal won the United States title against Randy Orton, Rusev and Bobby Roode
- Charlotte retained the SmackDown Women’s title against Asuka
- Seth Rollins won the Intercontinental title against The Miz and Finn Balor
- Naomi won the first WrestleMania Women’s Battle Royal
- Cedric Alexander won the vacant Cruiserweight title against Mustafa Ali
- Matt Hardy won the Andre the Giant Battle Royal