Team Abu Dhabi’s Alex Carella will start third on the grid when the penultimate round of the UIM F1 World Championship, the Grand Prix of Abu Dhabi, gets under way at 3.30pm at the Breakwater on Friday.
An outright victory for the Italian driver will secure him his fourth world title and the first success for Team Abu Dhabi since the American Scott Gillman won it for them in 2006.
Philippe Chiappe, the Frenchman on the CTIC Shenzhen China Team who has won the world title three times in-a-row, will start on pole after clocking the fastest time of 42.83 seconds on Thursday.
He was followed by Norwegian Marit Stromoy (42.89) of the Emirates Racing Team and Carella (43.02). Emirati Ahmed Al Hameli of the Victory Team was sixth fastest of the 21 boats.
“It was not the best qualifying for me,” Carella said. “We made some mistakes. I got a bit lost in my rhythm on my best lap. I guess I am ahead of Erik [Stark of Team Sweden, who starts fifth on the grid], but I am behind Philippe now.
“That is not perfect, but it will be a long and difficult race with this water. Marit is a very good driver and I am pleased for her that she delivered such a great performance.”
Team Abu Dhabi’s Emirati driver Rashed Al Qamzi produced some solid lap times and will start eighth.
“I am very happy with that and am trying to push harder for the future,” he said. “I was inside the top six until near the end, but I could not find any clear water to set a faster time. I will try to push hard in the race.”
Guido Cappellini, the Team Abu Dhabi’s manager, was unhappy with Carella’s time.
“I am surprised because our boat was faster than this in the private test,” said the 10-time world champion.
“I don’t know why. Now we check, engine and propeller. I am not happy for this. We work 20 days to not have this result. Saying that, third place is good and it was important to be in front of Stark.
“Honestly, we pushed hard for the pole position to win the race. Marit was incredible – one perfect lap, a lap of life! Now, if Alex has a very good start and he stays in first, OK, but, if not, maybe it’s better not to take risks.”
Carella goes into the second last race of the season on 58 points followed by Stark (42), Chiappe (39), Sami Selio (30) and Ahmed Al Hameli (30).
With 20 points up for grabs for the winner on Friday, victory will wrap up the title for Carella ahead of next week's final race in Sharjah.
Juliot Vinolia’s checklist for adopting alternate-day fasting
- Don’t do it more than once in three days
- Don’t go under 700 calories on fasting days
- Ensure there is sufficient water intake, as the body can go in dehydration mode
- Ensure there is enough roughage (fibre) in the food on fasting days as well
- Do not binge on processed or fatty foods on non-fasting days
- Complement fasting with plant-based foods, fruits, vegetables, seafood. Cut out processed meats and processed carbohydrates
- Manage your sleep
- People with existing gastric or mental health issues should avoid fasting
- Do not fast for prolonged periods without supervision by a qualified expert
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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.”
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Rating: 2/5
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
MATCH INFO
Bangla Tigers 108-5 (10 ovs)
Ingram 37, Rossouw 26, Pretorius 2-10
Deccan Gladiators 109-4 (9.5 ovs)
Watson 41, Devcich 27, Wiese 2-15
Gladiators win by six wickets
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Cast: Loujain Adada, Zeina Khoury, Farhana Bodi, Ebraheem Al Samadi, Mona Kattan, and couples Safa & Fahad Siddiqui and DJ Bliss & Danya Mohammed
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The specs
Engine: Dual 180kW and 300kW front and rear motors
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Transmission: Single-speed automatic
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MATCH INFO
Uefa Champioons League semi-final:
First leg: Liverpool 5 Roma 2
Second leg: Wednesday, May 2, Stadio Olimpico, Rome
TV: BeIN Sports, 10.45pm (UAE)
Pearls on a Branch: Oral Tales
Najlaa Khoury, Archipelago Books
