Time was when Albert Park was the beloved opening round of every Formula One season, touched by a crisp sunshine and promise of change and new beginnings.
The heat was softened by winds off the Tasman Sea. With apartments lining the back straight, kite surfers danced on the waves while drivers had their breakfast on St Kilda beach before the day’s action.
Swamped by Australia’s fanatical F1 following, Melbourne wasn’t just a race - it was an event. It always felt fresh, exciting, hopeful.
When it was shifted off pole position post-covid, something was broken. Shunted down to third in the calendar after Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, it completed a trio so unique in its make up, performance and results could not be extrapolated across the coming season.
When F1 arrived in Melbourne in 1996 it was very different; 11 of the first 16 winners went on to become champions. But in the last 12 years that has only happened twice.
In fact, an Albert Park victory was as good as the kiss of death. Lewis Hamilton started from pole a remarkable eight times but only won twice.
In fact, his teammates have won more often when he was on pole than he has.
Pacesetters Red Bull return on Sunday as favourites but have to go back over a decade to when Sebastian Vettel was in his pomp to remember what it’s like to triumph at Albert Park.
Max Verstappen may have won 10 of the last 13 Grands Prix (and his team 12 of 13) as well as being pre-race favourite, but he has never been successful here.
New arrival Las Vegas aside, Melbourne is now one of only two circuits in the calendar where he is yet to triumph.
It’s difficult to say why the track is such an outlier, and it’s certainly not for want of trying. Organisers tinker with the layout almost annually, and this year it will be faster and the first to have four DRS zones, turning the race into a battery recharging chess game as much as a contest between cars.
Its street circuit layout is closer than anywhere to the last round in Saudi without being so unrelentingly lethal, which suggests Red Bull’s devastating domination from the Gulf will continue.
Charles Leclerc can attest to Melbourne’s curse. He won last year from pole and achieved the 'grand slam' - taking every session, every lap, pole and victory. It was his second victory in three.
Life could hardly get much better as the stats made him firm title favourite.
He flew back to Europe leading the championship by 34 points but dominance in Bahrain and Australia proved irrelevant to the circuits to come. From the following round in Italy, his season fell apart.
If hopes of a new beginnings remain, it comes from a strange quarter; Red Bull’s capable but unexceptional No 2 Sergio Perez.
That the Mexican held the record as the driver from the current crop to take longest to get to his first pole (215 GPs and over a decade) and first win (190 races) says it all.
Comparisons in the same car as Verstappen over the last two years suggest he is not among the elite. The Dutchman has taken 26 wins, two world titles and 18 poles. Perez just four triumphs and two poles.
But after his latest victory in Saudi a fortnight ago, when he matched Verstappen lap for lap at the end, the Mexican insists he will not be playing also-ran.
Despite helping Verstappen to the 2021 title in Abu Dhabi by slowing Hamilton, the duo have fallen out spectacularly with the Dutchman publicly refusing to help Perez to runners-up spot in Brazil last year.
In Saudi, Perez was furious to discover Verstappen had ignored team instructions to grab fastest lap on the very last tour and retain a slender championship lead.
And there is no point in turning to the rest of the grid; Ferrari are at sea, their speed gone, and Mercedes are entirely off the pace as their chassis redesign continues.
Hamilton’s bid for a record eighth championship is history and he cuts a lonely figure in the paddock now after his unexpected split with physio and trainer-cum-constant companion Angela Cullen.
So it is down to Perez. As Ayrton Senna versus Alain Prost, Vettel and Mark Webber, Hamilton versus Fernando Alonso, Jenson Button or Nico Rosberg have proved, it only takes two drivers to make a championship.
Whether his team will allow Perez to regularly challenge Verstappen is another matter altogether.
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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
Read more about the coronavirus
KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
UK-EU trade at a glance
EU fishing vessels guaranteed access to UK waters for 12 years
Co-operation on security initiatives and procurement of defence products
Youth experience scheme to work, study or volunteer in UK and EU countries
Smoother border management with use of e-gates
Cutting red tape on import and export of food
Company Profile
Company name: OneOrder
Started: October 2021
Founders: Tamer Amer and Karim Maurice
Based: Cairo, Egypt
Industry: technology, logistics
Investors: A15 and self-funded
What can you do?
Document everything immediately; including dates, times, locations and witnesses
Seek professional advice from a legal expert
You can report an incident to HR or an immediate supervisor
You can use the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation’s dedicated hotline
In criminal cases, you can contact the police for additional support
Previous men's records
- 2:01:39: Eliud Kipchoge (KEN) on 16/9/19 in Berlin
- 2:02:57: Dennis Kimetto (KEN) on 28/09/2014 in Berlin
- 2:03:23: Wilson Kipsang (KEN) on 29/09/2013 in Berlin
- 2:03:38: Patrick Makau (KEN) on 25/09/2011 in Berlin
- 2:03:59: Haile Gebreselassie (ETH) on 28/09/2008 in Berlin
- 2:04:26: Haile Gebreselassie (ETH) on 30/09/2007 in Berlin
- 2:04:55: Paul Tergat (KEN) on 28/09/2003 in Berlin
- 2:05:38: Khalid Khannouchi (USA) 14/04/2002 in London
- 2:05:42: Khalid Khannouchi (USA) 24/10/1999 in Chicago
- 2:06:05: Ronaldo da Costa (BRA) 20/09/1998 in Berlin
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MATCH INFO
Euro 2020 qualifier
Ukraine 2 (Yaremchuk 06', Yarmolenko 27')
Portugal 1 (Ronaldo 72' pen)
WHAT IS GRAPHENE?
It was discovered in 2004, when Russian-born Manchester scientists Andrei Geim and Kostya Novoselov were experimenting with sticky tape and graphite, the material used as lead in pencils.
Placing the tape on the graphite and peeling it, they managed to rip off thin flakes of carbon. In the beginning they got flakes consisting of many layers of graphene. But when they repeated the process many times, the flakes got thinner.
By separating the graphite fragments repeatedly, they managed to create flakes that were just one atom thick. Their experiment led to graphene being isolated for the very first time.
In 2010, Geim and Novoselov were awarded the Nobel Prize for Physics.
Infobox
Western Region Asia Cup Qualifier, Al Amerat, Oman
The two finalists advance to the next stage of qualifying, in Malaysia in August
Results
UAE beat Iran by 10 wickets
Kuwait beat Saudi Arabia by eight wickets
Oman beat Bahrain by nine wickets
Qatar beat Maldives by 106 runs
Monday fixtures
UAE v Kuwait, Iran v Saudi Arabia, Oman v Qatar, Maldives v Bahrain
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
'Gehraiyaan'
Director:Shakun Batra
Stars:Deepika Padukone, Siddhant Chaturvedi, Ananya Panday, Dhairya Karwa
Rating: 4/5
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PROFILE OF SWVL
Started: April 2017
Founders: Mostafa Kandil, Ahmed Sabbah and Mahmoud Nouh
Based: Cairo, Egypt
Sector: transport
Size: 450 employees
Investment: approximately $80 million
Investors include: Dubai’s Beco Capital, US’s Endeavor Catalyst, China’s MSA, Egypt’s Sawari Ventures, Sweden’s Vostok New Ventures, Property Finder CEO Michael Lahyani
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Labour dispute
The insured employee may still file an ILOE claim even if a labour dispute is ongoing post termination, but the insurer may suspend or reject payment, until the courts resolve the dispute, especially if the reason for termination is contested. The outcome of the labour court proceedings can directly affect eligibility.
- Abdullah Ishnaneh, Partner, BSA Law
MIDWAY
Produced: Lionsgate Films, Shanghai Ryui Entertainment, Street Light Entertainment
Directed: Roland Emmerich
Cast: Ed Skrein, Woody Harrelson, Dennis Quaid, Aaron Eckhart, Luke Evans, Nick Jonas, Mandy Moore, Darren Criss
Rating: 3.5/5 stars
The Perfect Couple
Starring: Nicole Kidman, Liev Schreiber, Jack Reynor
Creator: Jenna Lamia
Rating: 3/5
The Settlers
Director: Louis Theroux
Starring: Daniella Weiss, Ari Abramowitz
Rating: 5/5
The alternatives
• Founded in 2014, Telr is a payment aggregator and gateway with an office in Silicon Oasis. It’s e-commerce entry plan costs Dh349 monthly (plus VAT). QR codes direct customers to an online payment page and merchants can generate payments through messaging apps.
• Business Bay’s Pallapay claims 40,000-plus active merchants who can invoice customers and receive payment by card. Fees range from 1.99 per cent plus Dh1 per transaction depending on payment method and location, such as online or via UAE mobile.
• Tap started in May 2013 in Kuwait, allowing Middle East businesses to bill, accept, receive and make payments online “easier, faster and smoother” via goSell and goCollect. It supports more than 10,000 merchants. Monthly fees range from US$65-100, plus card charges of 2.75-3.75 per cent and Dh1.2 per sale.
• 2checkout’s “all-in-one payment gateway and merchant account” accepts payments in 200-plus markets for 2.4-3.9 per cent, plus a Dh1.2-Dh1.8 currency conversion charge. The US provider processes online shop and mobile transactions and has 17,000-plus active digital commerce users.
• PayPal is probably the best-known online goods payment method - usually used for eBay purchases - but can be used to receive funds, providing everyone’s signed up. Costs from 2.9 per cent plus Dh1.2 per transaction.
ELIO
Starring: Yonas Kibreab, Zoe Saldana, Brad Garrett
Directors: Madeline Sharafian, Domee Shi, Adrian Molina
Rating: 4/5
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More from Neighbourhood Watch:
ESSENTIALS
The flights
Etihad (etihad.com) flies from Abu Dhabi to Mykonos, with a flight change to its partner airline Olympic Air in Athens. Return flights cost from Dh4,105 per person, including taxes.
Where to stay
The modern-art-filled Ambassador hotel (myconianambassador.gr) is 15 minutes outside Mykonos Town on a hillside 500 metres from the Platis Gialos Beach, with a bus into town every 30 minutes (a taxi costs €15 [Dh66]). The Nammos and Scorpios beach clubs are a 10- to 20-minute walk (or water-taxi ride) away. All 70 rooms have a large balcony, many with a Jacuzzi, and of the 15 suites, five have a plunge pool. There’s also a private eight-bedroom villa. Double rooms cost from €240 (Dh1,063) including breakfast, out of season, and from €595 (Dh2,636) in July/August.
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
