Max Verstappen delivered something of a masterclass in Styria last Sunday.
The young Dutchman led from lights out to the chequered flag to put world champion Lewis Hamilton on the receiving end of the type of emphatic defeat he is used to dishing out.
But for all Verstappen’s solo superiority this race it is unlikely to have a starring place in the history books. And perhaps it should.
Those days are always the ones people remember: Hamilton’s final corner genius in Brazil 2008, Jacques Villeneuve's move on Michael Schumacher in Jerez 1997 or Mika Hakkinen’s dive inside the German at Les Combes in 2000.
But the truth is that championships are built on other days. Days when a golfer makes a difficult chip from the rough to rescue par or a footballer’s well-timed tackle prevents a goal. Or by a lonely boxer jogging the gruelling miles to peak fitness.
Or, indeed, on days like this, when the young Red Bull ace did as much as was needed and no more.
Red Bull have an edge, of course they do. But the race could have gone wrong in a million ways. Verstappen ensured it did not.
He leapt off the grid ahead of Hamilton who’s Mercedes usually makes the better start. First hurdle overcome. On the next lap he put himself out of DRS range. Second hurdle vaulted.
The Styrian GP was a 71-lapper but by the sixth time around the young Dutchman was 2.6 seconds clear of Hamilton and already cruising. Another landmine dodged. By the stops on Lap 26 the difference was over five seconds.
In F1 parlance that means ‘long gone’.
The public perception is that the driver in front sets the pace and the pursuers are desperately trying to catch him.
But sometimes it’s the other way around. The guy ahead isn’t racing as fast as he might but just fast enough to stay ahead, or in this era, to stay out of DRS range. If Hamilton fired in a fast lap, Verstappen replied in kind. If he relented, so did the Dutchman.
After all you get 25 points whether you win by one second or one kilometre.
In June 2002 I was in Montreal for the Grand Prix and settled down to taste the atmosphere as (Canadian raised) Lennox Lewis fought Mike Tyson for the world heavyweight title.
Lewis was bigger, faster, in better shape and, in truth, Tyson sluggish, complacent and past his best. Lewis was six inches taller and, crucially, had a reach 13 inches longer.
Arguably he could have beaten Tyson sooner but he just jabbed with his left, staying out of reach, and used his superior weaponry until he found the decisive blow in the eighth. By then Tyson was a spent force.
So with Verstappen. He had more but he just kept firing in the jab. Taking it steady.
After the tyre stops Hamilton upped the pace to see if anything would give. But the gap remained the same, give or take: 4.1s, 3.9, 4.0, 4.2, 4.4, 4.4, 4.4, 4.5, 4.8, 4.8.
Verstappen wasn’t racing away. Perhaps there was the question of tyre wear but, in truth, he just didn’t need to.
In any case, the Mercedes Hamilton was driving wasn’t good enough to ask serious questions of its rival.
So unrelenting was Verstappen’s pace that the man who never gives up, gave up.
On Lap 58 the difference, which had grown in tenths, suddenly began to leap by half a second or a full second each time around. In the next seven laps the gap leapt five seconds.
Then three laps from home Hamilton surrendered any thoughts of victory and grabbed at the only morsel likely to slip from Red Bull’s table on this dominant day – the single point for the fastest lap.
Afterwards Mercedes boss Toto Wolff manfully admitted this was the first time in eight years his team had no answer to the pace of a rival.
And there was a collective intake of breath up and down the paddock as he revealed Mercedes had stopped development on this year’s car to focus on the radical rule changes of 2022, although it was later denied.
So Mercedes were left reeling, from the worst series of defeats in the turbo-hybrid era.
But just like that day Lewis and Tyson went toe-to-toe in Memphis, sometimes a fighter is shifting his weight under the impact of a staggering blow but others he is just swaying with the force to clear a path for the devastating counter punch.
Freezer tips
- Always make sure food is completely cool before freezing.
- If you’re cooking in large batches, divide into either family-sized or individual portions to freeze.
- Ensure the food is well wrapped in foil or cling film. Even better, store in fully sealable, labelled containers or zip-lock freezer bags.
- The easiest and safest way to defrost items such as the stews and sauces mentioned is to do so in the fridge for several hours or overnight.
Naga
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MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League, semi-final result:
Liverpool 4-0 Barcelona
Liverpool win 4-3 on aggregate
Champions Legaue final: June 1, Madrid
Company%20profile%20
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Recipe: Spirulina Coconut Brothie
Ingredients
1 tbsp Spirulina powder
1 banana
1 cup unsweetened coconut milk (full fat preferable)
1 tbsp fresh turmeric or turmeric powder
½ cup fresh spinach leaves
½ cup vegan broth
2 crushed ice cubes (optional)
Method
Blend all the ingredients together on high in a high-speed blender until smooth and creamy.
PROFILE OF INVYGO
Started: 2018
Founders: Eslam Hussein and Pulkit Ganjoo
Based: Dubai
Sector: Transport
Size: 9 employees
Investment: $1,275,000
Investors: Class 5 Global, Equitrust, Gulf Islamic Investments, Kairos K50 and William Zeqiri
EA Sports FC 26
Publisher: EA Sports
Consoles: PC, PlayStation 4/5, Xbox Series X/S
Rating: 3/5
What are the influencer academy modules?
- Mastery of audio-visual content creation.
- Cinematography, shots and movement.
- All aspects of post-production.
- Emerging technologies and VFX with AI and CGI.
- Understanding of marketing objectives and audience engagement.
- Tourism industry knowledge.
- Professional ethics.
KEY DEVELOPMENTS IN MARITIME DISPUTE
2000: Israel withdraws from Lebanon after nearly 30 years without an officially demarcated border. The UN establishes the Blue Line to act as the frontier.
2007: Lebanon and Cyprus define their respective exclusive economic zones to facilitate oil and gas exploration. Israel uses this to define its EEZ with Cyprus
2011: Lebanon disputes Israeli-proposed line and submits documents to UN showing different EEZ. Cyprus offers to mediate without much progress.
2018: Lebanon signs first offshore oil and gas licencing deal with consortium of France’s Total, Italy’s Eni and Russia’s Novatek.
2018-2019: US seeks to mediate between Israel and Lebanon to prevent clashes over oil and gas resources.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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
KINGDOM%20OF%20THE%20PLANET%20OF%20THE%20APES
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Wes%20Ball%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarring%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Owen%20Teague%2C%20Freya%20Allen%2C%20Kevin%20Durand%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E3.5%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The National in Davos
We are bringing you the inside story from the World Economic Forum's Annual Meeting in Davos, a gathering of hundreds of world leaders, top executives and billionaires.
The National Archives, Abu Dhabi
Founded over 50 years ago, the National Archives collects valuable historical material relating to the UAE, and is the oldest and richest archive relating to the Arabian Gulf.
Much of the material can be viewed on line at the Arabian Gulf Digital Archive - https://www.agda.ae/en
What are NFTs?
Are non-fungible tokens a currency, asset, or a licensing instrument? Arnab Das, global market strategist EMEA at Invesco, says they are mix of all of three.
You can buy, hold and use NFTs just like US dollars and Bitcoins. “They can appreciate in value and even produce cash flows.”
However, while money is fungible, NFTs are not. “One Bitcoin, dollar, euro or dirham is largely indistinguishable from the next. Nothing ties a dollar bill to a particular owner, for example. Nor does it tie you to to any goods, services or assets you bought with that currency. In contrast, NFTs confer specific ownership,” Mr Das says.
This makes NFTs closer to a piece of intellectual property such as a work of art or licence, as you can claim royalties or profit by exchanging it at a higher value later, Mr Das says. “They could provide a sustainable income stream.”
This income will depend on future demand and use, which makes NFTs difficult to value. “However, there is a credible use case for many forms of intellectual property, notably art, songs, videos,” Mr Das says.
CHATGPT%20ENTERPRISE%20FEATURES
%3Cp%3E%E2%80%A2%20Enterprise-grade%20security%20and%20privacy%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%E2%80%A2%20Unlimited%20higher-speed%20GPT-4%20access%20with%20no%20caps%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%E2%80%A2%20Longer%20context%20windows%20for%20processing%20longer%20inputs%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%E2%80%A2%20Advanced%20data%20analysis%20capabilities%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%E2%80%A2%20Customisation%20options%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%E2%80%A2%20Shareable%20chat%20templates%20that%20companies%20can%20use%20to%20collaborate%20and%20build%20common%20workflows%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%E2%80%A2%20Analytics%20dashboard%20for%20usage%20insights%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%E2%80%A2%20Free%20credits%20to%20use%20OpenAI%20APIs%20to%20extend%20OpenAI%20into%20a%20fully-custom%20solution%20for%20enterprises%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Race card
5pm: Maiden (PA) Dh80,000 1,600m
5.30pm: Maiden (PA) Dh80,000 1,600m
6pm: Arabian Triple Crown Round-2 Group 3 (PA) Dh300,000 2,200m
6.30pm: Liwa Oaisi Group 2 (PA) Dh300,000 1,400m
7pm: Wathba Stallions Cup Handicap (PA) Dh70,000 1,600m
7.30pm: Handicap (TB) Dh100,000 1,600m
The National selections: 5pm: Flit Al Maury, 5.30pm: Sadah, 6pm: RB Seqondtonone, 6.30pm: RB Money To Burn, 7pm: SS Jalmood, 7.30pm: Dalaalaat
Specs
Engine: 51.5kW electric motor
Range: 400km
Power: 134bhp
Torque: 175Nm
Price: From Dh98,800
Available: Now
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League final:
Who: Real Madrid v Liverpool
Where: NSC Olimpiyskiy Stadium, Kiev, Ukraine
When: Saturday, May 26, 10.45pm (UAE)
TV: Match on BeIN Sports
Tewellah by Nawal Zoghbi is out now.
