SAO PAULO // The 2010 Formula One world championship remains wide open after yesterday’s Brazilian Grand Prix and the outcome will be settled next weekend in Abu Dhabi, with four drivers still in the hunt.
Fernando Alonso continues to lead the points standings, but Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber have closed the gap after recording Red Bull-Renault’s third one-two of the season. Lewis Hamilton remains in contention, too, but only just. The result has settled one key issue, though: in only their sixth season as an F1 team, Red Bull have clinched the world championship for constructors.
All the title contenders had to clear surprise pole winner Nico Hulkenberg (Williams-Cosworth) – and both Red Bulls were ahead within the first four corners.
“Nico made a good start,” said Vettel, “but mine was better and I went down the inside. He didn’t leave much room, but there was just enough.
“I was praying there wouldn’t be any debris on that part of the track, because I wasn’t on the conventional racing line.”
Webber followed suit when Hulkenberg braked slightly late for Turn Four and the Red Bulls were never threatened again. Alonso briefly passed Hamilton to take fourth at the end of the opening lap, but the McLaren-Mercedes driver reclaimed the spot by sticking to the inside line at Turn One.
Alonso nailed him three corners later, but was unable to dislodge Hulkenberg until lap seven, by which stage the Red Bull drivers were out of reach.
Both made smooth tyre stops and their rhythm would not be interrupted until lap 51, when Vitantonio Liuzzi, the Force India driver, crashed exiting Turn Two.
The safety car was deployed until the end of lap 55, but Alonso was unable to launch an immediate attack because of lapped traffic. There were two cars between Vettel and Webber – and another seven between the Australian and Alonso. “I had been using a conservative engine setting,” the Spaniard said, “but I turned it up at the end to see whether there was any chance of catching Mark.
“By the time I had cleared the other cars, though, he was five seconds ahead.”
He closed in with a string of searing laps, but the Australian was able to control the gap.
He went on to cross the line 4.2 seconds behind his teammate, with Alonso easing off right at the end to take a safe third.
Hamilton took a tactical gamble when the safety car came out, making another pit stop for a second set of fresh tyres, but it made little difference and he finished a distant fourth, his title hopes intact but in need of major assistance.
Jenson Button, the outgoing champion, recovered well from 11th to finish within a second of Hamilton, but his hopes of a second consecutive F1 crown are over. Nico Rosberg and Michael Schumacher, the Mercedes GP drivers, took sixth and seventh, while Hulkenberg finished eighth after his fleeting moment of glory.
“Seb drove really well,” said Webber, “but today’s result is all about the team. I’m really pleased for the guys and girls that we’ve won the championship for constructors. To beat Ferrari and McLaren fair and square is quite something.”
Webber would be going to the final race one point behind Alonso, rather than eight, if Red Bull had instructed Vettel to ease up yesterday, but that’s not the team’s philosophy.
It might be in Abu Dhabi, however, if yesterday’s top three are running in the same order as the race reaches its conclusion.
Vettel dropped a strong hint that he would step aside to help Webber if his own title chances are beyond salvation.
“I think the situation is fairly clear,” he said. “But let’s see what happens next weekend.”
No matter where they finish, second place will be enough to give Alonso a third F1 title.
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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.”
David Haye record
Total fights: 32
Wins: 28
Wins by KO: 26
Losses: 4
