Are Mercedes finally on the march again?
That’s the big question ringing around the paddock as F1 heads for a French Grand Prix in the sweltering hills that run down to the Mediterranean.
And the same could be asked of Ferrari. With victory in Austria, Charles Leclerc bought to an end a bruising few months in which either the Ferrari cars, their drivers or their strategy proved desperately brittle.
So, as we step into the second half of the championship at Paul Ricard, it is salivating to suppose the new ground effect formula is finally coming good.
Some seasoned onlookers are convinced the nature of their performances as well as five podiums in six races confirm the rise of Mercedes.
After all, nailing down their slot as the third best team in F1 is pretty small change for the reigning constructors champions and their ambitions are far higher, even this far into the season.
Paul Ricard’s billiard table smooth surface plays to the strengths of the Silver Arrows and some ambitious souls believe talk of a Mercedes win should be on the agenda.
They cite the fact that Hamilton is apparently over his early season doldrums and joining Russell as a consistent force.
Charles Leclerc wins Austrian Grand Prix - in pictures
Even though any hope of winning the driver’s championship has clearly gone, my bet is all ambitions at Mercedes are focused on getting back to their winning ways primarily to be best set for a full-on title tilt in 2023.
Max Verstappen is just too consistent for them to bridge the gap even if regular front-running form returns.
Hamilton trails the world champion by 99 points and would have to average around 10 points MORE a race to get back into the reckoning. It’s just not feasible that the Red Bull racer would be that poor consistently even if Hamilton could hit the front regularly.
But the thought of refining this year’s difficult beast into one that can take him to a record eighth title in 2023 is surely what sustains Hamilton.
As for Ferrari, most of their history they have stood for style, elan, prestige, in fact pretty much everything positive, except reliability.
And history is repeating itself. Boss Mattia Binotto admitted he could not even watch the data screens for the final few laps in Austria after his driver reported throttle problems a few miles from home.
The thought of the eighth race in a row being squandered was just too much to bear.
But win they did and it’s interesting to reflect Leclerc had been confident from the day before the race that he had found the key to his issues after a particularly gruelling final practice session.
Going their own way and not being seduced into Red Bull’s games certainly seems part of it if Christian Horner’s words are to be believed.
Critics forget, though, that Maranello is coming off one of its worst seasons in 40 years so it makes more sense to view this year as a launch pad for greater glories in 2023. Not a point, I am sure, Leclerc is willing to entertain for a second.
So can he repeat his Zeltweg victory – to make it the first time this year Verstappen has lost consecutive races?
Paul Ricard has one of the longest corners in F1 while high track temperatures and an abrasive surface, which is a real tyre shredder, make strategy and tyre management as crucial as speed and reliability, aspects Ferrari have not proved masters of this year.
On the plus side, Ricard’s breadth means a history of dull races is unlikely as multiple racing lines should guarantee drama.
The track limits controversy is sure to elicit more complaints from drivers, though, because of Ricard’s lack of kerbs for safety reasons.
And the debate about fans booing is sure to continue with partisan feeling apparent between Verstappen and Hamilton fans. For my part, I am wholly in favour of it.
I thought it was hypocritical for the Mercedes champion to lash out publicly at stewards and with the next breath call for restraint from fans.
He wasn’t the only one. Fans are passionate and everyone welcomes cheering so they can hardly ban booing. Of course physical assaults are never excusable.
Analysis and criticism is, sadly, a fact of life. Get over it. The best response is not to moan but to win.
Our legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants
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.
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Dubai works towards better air quality by 2021
Dubai is on a mission to record good air quality for 90 per cent of the year – up from 86 per cent annually today – by 2021.
The municipality plans to have seven mobile air-monitoring stations by 2020 to capture more accurate data in hourly and daily trends of pollution.
These will be on the Palm Jumeirah, Al Qusais, Muhaisnah, Rashidiyah, Al Wasl, Al Quoz and Dubai Investment Park.
“It will allow real-time responding for emergency cases,” said Khaldoon Al Daraji, first environment safety officer at the municipality.
“We’re in a good position except for the cases that are out of our hands, such as sandstorms.
“Sandstorms are our main concern because the UAE is just a receiver.
“The hotspots are Iran, Saudi Arabia and southern Iraq, but we’re working hard with the region to reduce the cycle of sandstorm generation.”
Mr Al Daraji said monitoring as it stood covered 47 per cent of Dubai.
There are 12 fixed stations in the emirate, but Dubai also receives information from monitors belonging to other entities.
“There are 25 stations in total,” Mr Al Daraji said.
“We added new technology and equipment used for the first time for the detection of heavy metals.
“A hundred parameters can be detected but we want to expand it to make sure that the data captured can allow a baseline study in some areas to ensure they are well positioned.”
Third Test
Result: India won by 203 runs
Series: England lead five-match series 2-1
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Pharaoh's curse
British aristocrat Lord Carnarvon, who funded the expedition to find the Tutankhamun tomb, died in a Cairo hotel four months after the crypt was opened.
He had been in poor health for many years after a car crash, and a mosquito bite made worse by a shaving cut led to blood poisoning and pneumonia.
Reports at the time said Lord Carnarvon suffered from “pain as the inflammation affected the nasal passages and eyes”.
Decades later, scientists contended he had died of aspergillosis after inhaling spores of the fungus aspergillus in the tomb, which can lie dormant for months. The fact several others who entered were also found dead withiin a short time led to the myth of the curse.
Results:
6.30pm: Handicap (Turf) | US$175,000 2,410m | Winner: Bin Battuta, Christophe Soumillon (jockey), Saeed bin Suroor (trainer)
7.05pm: UAE 1000 Guineas Trial Conditions (Dirt) | $100,000 | 1,400m | Winner: Al Hayette, Fabrice Veron, Ismail Mohammed
7.40pm: Handicap (T) | $145,000 | 1,000m | Winner: Faatinah, Jim Crowley, David Hayes
8.15pm: Dubawi Stakes Group 3 (D) | $200,000 | 1,200m | Winner: Raven’s Corner, Richard Mullen, Satish Seemar
8.50pm: Singspiel Stakes Group 3 (T) | $200,000 | 1,800m | Winner: Dream Castle, Christophe Soumillon, Saeed bin Suroor
9.25pm: Handicap (T) | $175,000 | 1,400m | Winner: Another Batt, Connor Beasley, George Scott
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
MOUNTAINHEAD REVIEW
Starring: Ramy Youssef, Steve Carell, Jason Schwartzman
Director: Jesse Armstrong
Rating: 3.5/5
APPLE IPAD MINI (A17 PRO)
Display: 21cm Liquid Retina Display, 2266 x 1488, 326ppi, 500 nits
Chip: Apple A17 Pro, 6-core CPU, 5-core GPU, 16-core Neural Engine
Storage: 128/256/512GB
Main camera: 12MP wide, f/1.8, digital zoom up to 5x, Smart HDR 4
Front camera: 12MP ultra-wide, f/2.4, Smart HDR 4, full-HD @ 25/30/60fps
Biometrics: Touch ID, Face ID
Colours: Blue, purple, space grey, starlight
In the box: iPad mini, USB-C cable, 20W USB-C power adapter
Price: From Dh2,099
