Sebastian Vettel secured the 10th pole position of his career yesterday.
Sebastian Vettel secured the 10th pole position of his career yesterday.
Sebastian Vettel secured the 10th pole position of his career yesterday.
Sebastian Vettel secured the 10th pole position of his career yesterday.

Vettel wings his way to pole


  • English
  • Arabic

SILVERSTONE, ENGLAND // Red Bull-Renault have a reputation for knowing how to throw a good party. But they are equally capable of wrecking a carnival atmosphere. Record crowds have thronged Silverstone during the opening two days of the British Grand Prix, and most of the bunting pays homage to Lewis Hamilton or Jenson Button.

The local favourites were mere bystanders yesterday, however, as Red Bull dominated qualifying yet again. Sebastian Vettel's pole position was the 10th of his Formula One career and his team's ninth of the season, but it triggered internal discord. Prior to qualifying, it had not been the smoothest of weekends for the German. He was plagued by brake problems during practice on Friday, and yesterday morning his front wing - a revised design, introduced this weekend - worked loose.

That is when the mood within Red Bull became unsettled: the team insist that their drivers are treated equally, but the updated wing from Mark Webber's car was removed and given to Vettel. The German's final two qualifying laps were both good enough for pole; he was 0.143secs faster than Webber. "The car feels unbelievable around here," Vettel said. "It's not often that you get to drive a car like this at a track like this. The cornering speeds are unbelievable and I think we'll be quick in race trim, too. The forecast for tomorrow is sunny: England is becoming more tropical, probably the place you should all go to invest."

His cheerful demeanour contrasted starkly with Webber's. The Australian remained tight-lipped throughout the official press conference. How did he feel about the session? "I think the team will be very happy," was his terse response. Asked whether he thought he had been given preferential treatment, Vettel said: "We are both different people. One of us might like coffee, the other tea." The look on Webber's face, however, said that he would quite like to have kept his new front wing.

Starting second on the grid, on the dirty side of the track, he knows he will have his work cut out fending off the challenge of Ferrari's Fernando Alonso, who qualified third. The Spaniard lost time during his final lap when he happened upon Michael Schumacher's slower Mercedes, but conceded that it had made little difference. "It cost me perhaps half-a-10th [of a second]," Alonso said, "but that doesn't explain the other seven-10ths."

The Red Bulls might be waging a private war, but they are doing so in a parallel universe. Vettel dominated last year's corresponding race, building a 20-second lead while Webber was trapped in third place, behind Rubens Barrichello's Brawn. Tomorrow, though, the only thing between them at the start will be a little simmering resentment. For McLaren-Mercedes, these have been two long, hard days. On Friday the team used their new exhaust-blown diffuser for the first time, but the system caused the cars' bodywork to overheat and triggered a handling imbalance.

The project was thus abandoned - for this weekend, at least - and older-style floors were fitted overnight. The team effectively started with a clean sheet of paper yesterday morning, and Hamilton salvaged fourth place after comfortably outpacing Button, who will start 14th. Nico Rosberg (Mercedes) and Robert Kubica (Renault) completed the top six, ahead of Felipe Massa (Ferrari), Barrichello (Williams-Cosworth), Pedro de la Rosa (BMW Sauber) and Schumacher.

Williams, too, are using an exhaust-blown diffuser for the first time this weekend. Unlike McLaren's, it appears to work. sports@thenational.ae

The story in numbers

18

This is how many recognised sects Lebanon is home to, along with about four million citizens

450,000

More than this many Palestinian refugees are registered with UNRWA in Lebanon, with about 45 per cent of them living in the country’s 12 refugee camps

1.5 million

There are just under 1 million Syrian refugees registered with the UN, although the government puts the figure upwards of 1.5m

73

The percentage of stateless people in Lebanon, who are not of Palestinian origin, born to a Lebanese mother, according to a 2012-2013 study by human rights organisation Frontiers Ruwad Association

18,000

The number of marriages recorded between Lebanese women and foreigners between the years 1995 and 2008, according to a 2009 study backed by the UN Development Programme

77,400

The number of people believed to be affected by the current nationality law, according to the 2009 UN study

4,926

This is how many Lebanese-Palestinian households there were in Lebanon in 2016, according to a census by the Lebanese-Palestinian dialogue committee

The specs
 
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo
Power: 398hp from 5,250rpm
Torque: 580Nm at 1,900-4,800rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L/100km
On sale: December
Price: From Dh330,000 (estimate)
Volvo ES90 Specs

Engine: Electric single motor (96kW), twin motor (106kW) and twin motor performance (106kW)

Power: 333hp, 449hp, 680hp

Torque: 480Nm, 670Nm, 870Nm

On sale: Later in 2025 or early 2026, depending on region

Price: Exact regional pricing TBA

John%20Wick%3A%20Chapter%204
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Chad%20Stahelski%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStars%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Keanu%20Reeves%2C%20Laurence%20Fishburne%2C%20George%20Georgiou%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E4%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Cherry

Directed by: Joe and Anthony Russo

Starring: Tom Holland, Ciara Bravo

1/5

ESSENTIALS

The flights

Emirates flies from Dubai to Phnom Penh via Yangon from Dh2,700 return including taxes. Cambodia Bayon Airlines and Cambodia Angkor Air offer return flights from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap from Dh250 return including taxes. The flight takes about 45 minutes.

The hotels

Rooms at the Raffles Le Royal in Phnom Penh cost from $225 (Dh826) per night including taxes. Rooms at the Grand Hotel d'Angkor cost from $261 (Dh960) per night including taxes.

The tours

A cyclo architecture tour of Phnom Penh costs from $20 (Dh75) per person for about three hours, with Khmer Architecture Tours. Tailor-made tours of all of Cambodia, or sites like Angkor alone, can be arranged by About Asia Travel. Emirates Holidays also offers packages.