One of the quiet success stories of the 2016 Formula One season was the first season for team Haas. The 30-year-old Swiss-French driver Romain Grosjean finished 11th at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix on Sunday, bringing to a close a highly respectable first season as Haas's lead driver. He scored a total of 29 points, which equated to 13th place in this year's drivers' championship. The National caught up with Grosjean at Yas Marina Circuit the day after the race.
Q. How was your Abu Dhabi Grand Prix?
A. It was pretty all right. Better than expected. We started the race far (14th place on the grid), but we had a good strategy and managed to finish just outside the points. We wish we could have scored one (point), but it wasn’t far.
Would you have done the same as Lewis Hamilton and ignored team orders in Abu Dhabi, in an attempt to push his title rival Nico Rosberg back into traffic and engineer a result to win the World Championship? Was that his only card to play?
It was. I mean he knew his destiny was not in his hands, so he had to try something. It’s not easy to do. It’s not easy to judge how much you have to back off, but that’s the only thing he could try.
Do you think Nico Rosberg will go on to win more titles? Or was his one season where everything came together perfectly?
You never know. He did a great season. He wasn’t far (away from winning the title) the couple of years before that. It’s mainly relating to the car, so if Mercedes still have the best car next year, why not? If not, it’s going to be someone else.
You will have a new teammate next season in the shape of Danish driver Kevin Magnussen. How well do you know him from his time in F1 with McLaren and Renault?
I don’t know him very well, just from the races and so on. I’ve heard he’s a good guy and he’s clearly a good racer, so it’s going to be great for the team.
Who’s your best friend out of all the F1 drivers?
I get on very well with Nico (Rosberg), (Daniel) Ricciardo and Jenson (Button).
You scored a total of 29 points this season. That must have exceeded your expectations with a team in its first F1 season?
We knew going into a new team was always going to be a challenge and a lot of work, but we got the opportunities whenever we could and that was great. And in the end, yeah, 29 points for our first year was pretty impressive.
How does the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix rank in terms of your favourite races on the F1 calendar?
It’s pretty high up – it’s the last one (of the season), so you know you’ve got a break after that. And on top of that, the facilities and the build-up of the Grand Prix is always really good, so I like coming here.
In your earlier days in F1, you had quite a few racing incidents and trouble with the stewards, but in recent seasons you seem to have matured a lot as a driver. Do you feel like you have learnt a lot in those years and you’re a different driver nowadays?
Well I’ve definitely improved on some aspects. It’s tough when you get to Formula One, finding the right balance and the right limit, and obviously it took me a bit of time, but now I know what to do.
The National was a guest of the watch brand Richard Mille at the Yas Marina Circuit, Abu Dhabi.
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The Sky Is Pink
Director: Shonali Bose
Cast: Priyanka Chopra Jonas, Farhan Akhtar, Zaira Wasim, Rohit Saraf
Three stars
DEADPOOL & WOLVERINE
Starring: Ryan Reynolds, Hugh Jackman, Emma Corrin
Director: Shawn Levy
Rating: 3/5
Confirmed bouts (more to be added)
Cory Sandhagen v Umar Nurmagomedov
Nick Diaz v Vicente Luque
Michael Chiesa v Tony Ferguson
Deiveson Figueiredo v Marlon Vera
Mackenzie Dern v Loopy Godinez
Tickets for the August 3 Fight Night, held in partnership with the Department of Culture and Tourism Abu Dhabi, went on sale earlier this month, through www.etihadarena.ae and www.ticketmaster.ae.
Company Profile
Company name: Namara
Started: June 2022
Founder: Mohammed Alnamara
Based: Dubai
Sector: Microfinance
Current number of staff: 16
Investment stage: Series A
Investors: Family offices
Champion v Champion (PFL v Bellator)
Heavyweight: Renan Ferreira v Ryan Bader
Middleweight: Impa Kasanganay v Johnny Eblen
Featherweight: Jesus Pinedo v Patricio Pitbull
Catchweight: Ray Cooper III v Jason Jackson
Showcase Bouts
Heavyweight: Bruno Cappelozza (former PFL World champ) v Vadim Nemkov (former Bellator champ)
Light Heavyweight: Thiago Santos (PFL title contender) v Yoel Romero (Bellator title contender)
Lightweight: Clay Collard (PFL title contender) v AJ McKee (former Bellator champ)
Featherweight: Gabriel Braga (PFL title contender) v Aaron Pico (Bellator title contender)
Lightweight: Biaggio Ali Walsh (pro debut) v Emmanuel Palacios (pro debut)
Women’s Lightweight: Claressa Shields v Kelsey DeSantis
Featherweight: Abdullah Al Qahtani v Edukondal Rao
Amateur Flyweight: Malik Basahel v Vinicius Pereira
How Apple's credit card works
The Apple Card looks different from a traditional credit card — there's no number on the front and the users' name is etched in metal. The card expands the company's digital Apple Pay services, marrying the physical card to a virtual one and integrating both with the iPhone. Its attributes include quick sign-up, elimination of most fees, strong security protections and cash back.
What does it cost?
Apple says there are no fees associated with the card. That means no late fee, no annual fee, no international fee and no over-the-limit fees. It also said it aims to have among the lowest interest rates in the industry. Users must have an iPhone to use the card, which comes at a cost. But they will earn cash back on their purchases — 3 per cent on Apple purchases, 2 per cent on those with the virtual card and 1 per cent with the physical card. Apple says it is the only card to provide those rewards in real time, so that cash earned can be used immediately.
What will the interest rate be?
The card doesn't come out until summer but Apple has said that as of March, the variable annual percentage rate on the card could be anywhere from 13.24 per cent to 24.24 per cent based on creditworthiness. That's in line with the rest of the market, according to analysts
What about security?
The physical card has no numbers so purchases are made with the embedded chip and the digital version lives in your Apple Wallet on your phone, where it's protected by fingerprints or facial recognition. That means that even if someone steals your phone, they won't be able to use the card to buy things.
Is it easy to use?
Apple says users will be able to sign up for the card in the Wallet app on their iPhone and begin using it almost immediately. It also tracks spending on the phone in a more user-friendly format, eliminating some of the gibberish that fills a traditional credit card statement. Plus it includes some budgeting tools, such as tracking spending and providing estimates of how much interest could be charged on a purchase to help people make an informed decision.
* Associated Press
