VALENCIA // Sauber presented their 2011 Formula One car today with a welcome display of new Mexican sponsors where last year there was only a gleaming expanse of white.
The arrival of Mexican rookie Sergio Perez, as teammate to Japanese driver Kamui Kobayashi, has been accompanied by five backers including the country's telecommunications giant Telmex and Tequila brand Jose Cuervo.
Exactly a year ago in Valencia, the Swiss-based team rolled out their first car since the split from BMW with barely a sponsor in sight.
BMW had pulled out of the sport abruptly at the end of 2009, and a planned takeover by Qadbak Investment had come to nothing, leaving Peter Sauber, the team principal, racing to save the team he founded in 1993.
As Perez and Kobayashi pulled a tarpaulin off the Ferrari-powered C30 in front of reporters and photographers on a chilly Valencia pit straight, there was still a fair expanse of white on the car.
However, there was enough new colour to breed a fresh optimism.
"We have managed to secure our business foundation for the 2011 season. In these economically straitened times that is something we can be proud of too," said Peter Sauber. "Two years with a white car, that's not possible."
The Swiss added that the budget was similar to last year's, when the team was largely funded by money from the departed BMW.
The branding on the car also included a prominent display on the side for the "Sauber Club One" - an umbrella for those corporate entities who want to enjoy the access given to F1 sponsors without the public exposure.
Monisha Kaltenborn, the Sauber managing director, said the club idea had attracted a portfolio of strong Swiss companies who wanted to remain anonymous and the aim was to expand it internationally.
"We launched that in the middle of last year because we could sense when we spoke to different companies that they had issues, maybe environmental, which we couldn't really cover with Formula One," she explained. "We are convinced that in due time it is going to play a very important role."
There was only one Japanese sponsor on the car, reflecting that country's distancing from Formula One since the pullout of Honda, Toyota and Bridgestone, despite Kobayashi's popularity as a showman of the track.
"It is maybe due to the situation we have but it's not only with Japanese sponsors," said Sauber. "Generally it's difficult to get new sponsors. It's like [that for] all the other teams."
The team finished eighth overall last year, paying the price for poor reliability.
James Key, the team's technical director, said they had made progress on that front.
"In order to take a step forward in 2011, we were already systematically tackling the C29's weaknesses over the last season," he said. "The insights we gleaned were taken into account when the concept for the new C30 was being drawn up."
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MATCH INFO
Al Jazira 3 (O Abdulrahman 43', Kenno 82', Mabkhout 90 4')
Al Ain 1 (Laba 39')
Red cards: Bandar Al Ahbabi (Al Ain)
Dubai Bling season three
Cast: Loujain Adada, Zeina Khoury, Farhana Bodi, Ebraheem Al Samadi, Mona Kattan, and couples Safa & Fahad Siddiqui and DJ Bliss & Danya Mohammed
Rating: 1/5
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
The years Ramadan fell in May
Low turnout
Two months before the first round on April 10, the appetite of voters for the election is low.
Mathieu Gallard, account manager with Ipsos, which conducted the most recent poll, said current forecasts suggested only two-thirds were "very likely" to vote in the first round, compared with a 78 per cent turnout in the 2017 presidential elections.
"It depends on how interesting the campaign is on their main concerns," he told The National. "Just now, it's hard to say who, between Macron and the candidates of the right, would be most affected by a low turnout."
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Tom Sleigh, Graywolf Press
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Islamophobia definition
A widely accepted definition was made by the All Party Parliamentary Group on British Muslims in 2019: “Islamophobia is rooted in racism and is a type of racism that targets expressions of Muslimness or perceived Muslimness.” It further defines it as “inciting hatred or violence against Muslims”.
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What is THAAD?
It is considered to be the US' most superior missile defence system.
Production:
It was first created in 2008.
Speed:
THAAD missiles can travel at over Mach 8, so fast that it is hypersonic.
Abilities:
THAAD is designed to take out projectiles, namely ballistic missiles, as they are on their downward trajectory towards their target, otherwise known as the "terminal phase".
Purpose:
To protect high-value strategic sites, such as airfields or population centres.
Range:
THAAD can target projectiles both inside and outside of the Earth's atmosphere, at an altitude of 93 miles above the Earth's surface.
Creators:
Lockheed Martin was originally granted the contract to develop the system in 1992. Defence company Raytheon sub-contracts to develop other major parts of the system, such as ground-based radar.
UAE and THAAD:
In 2011, the UAE became the first country outside of the US to buy two THAAD missile defence systems. It then deployed them in 2016, becoming the first Gulf country to do so.
AI traffic lights to ease congestion at seven points to Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Street
The seven points are:
Shakhbout bin Sultan Street
Dhafeer Street
Hadbat Al Ghubainah Street (outbound)
Salama bint Butti Street
Al Dhafra Street
Rabdan Street
Umm Yifina Street exit (inbound)
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Liverpool 1 (Lallana 84')
Man of the match: Marcus Rashford (Manchester United)
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Difference between fractional ownership and timeshare
Although similar in its appearance, the concept of a fractional title deed is unlike that of a timeshare, which usually involves multiple investors buying “time” in a property whereby the owner has the right to occupation for a specified period of time in any year, as opposed to the actual real estate, said John Peacock, Head of Indirect Tax and Conveyancing, BSA Ahmad Bin Hezeem & Associates, a law firm.
