Ferrari insist they have no concerns over Lewis Hamilton's slump in form as the Briton gets set to drive his final race in a Mercedes before joining the Italian team after the Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
Hamilton, 39, unsuccessfully asked to be withdrawn from last weekend's Qatar GP after he was penalised twice by the stewards and claimed his car was “broken”.
The Briton continued to take the chequered flag in 12th – eight places behind George Russell in the other Silver Arrows – and alarmed observers by claiming after Saturday's Sprint race that he “definitely isn’t fast anymore”. He walked back those comments on Sunday, saying he "still has it".
Hamilton announced in February he was leaving Mercedes, the team in which he has won six of his seven F1 drivers' titles with, to move to Ferrari for the 2025 season. His final year with the team has been one of the most disappointing of his illustrious career though, winning only two races.
Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur says the Italian team are confident the British driver’s dip will not carry into next year.
“Not at all,” said Vasseur when asked if he was concerned about Hamilton’s recent run of results. “Look at the 50 laps he did in Las Vegas where he started 10th and finished second, on the gearbox of Russell. I am not worried at all.”
Hamilton has been beaten by teammate Russell in 23 of the 29 qualifying sessions staged this season and is set to finish behind his British compatriot in the championship when the season finishes in Abu Dhabi on Sunday.
Since the summer break, Hamilton has outscored Russell in just two of the nine races staged. Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff, who has overseen Hamilton’s 12 seasons with the Silver Arrows, said: “When he took the decision at the beginning of the season [to join Ferrari] we knew it could be a bumpy year ahead, and that is very normal.
“He knows that he is going somewhere else, and we know that our future lies with [Hamilton’s replacement] Kimi Antonelli. So to go through the ups and downs and still manage to keep it together between us, that is something that we have achieved.
“You see those very bad races, and clearly he wears his heart on his sleeve. He expresses his emotions and that is absolutely allowed. That is OK.
“Nothing is going to take away 12 incredible years, with eight constructors’ titles and six drivers’ titles [for Hamilton].
“That is what will be in the memory, and after next Sunday we are going to look back at this great period of time, rather than a season, or races that were particularly bad. We will stay with the good memories.”
Hamilton admitted in Qatar he doesn't have high hopes of a dramatic upturn in form in Abu Dhabi, but insisted that it is the approach to the weekend rather than the result that is important to him.
"I mean I don't think we're going to end up on a high," he told reporters.
"It'll end and I think what's important is how we turn up, we give it our best shot. I don't anticipate particularly much better weekend than we've had in the past weekends but naturally I'll try.
"Go in with low hopes and come out with a better result, then great, but it doesn't really make a big difference either way. These last races don't have an impact on everything we've done together."
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Temple numbers
Expected completion: 2022
Height: 24 meters
Ground floor banquet hall: 370 square metres to accommodate about 750 people
Ground floor multipurpose hall: 92 square metres for up to 200 people
First floor main Prayer Hall: 465 square metres to hold 1,500 people at a time
First floor terrace areas: 2,30 square metres
Temple will be spread over 6,900 square metres
Structure includes two basements, ground and first floor
if you go
Our legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
Ticket prices
- Golden circle - Dh995
- Floor Standing - Dh495
- Lower Bowl Platinum - Dh95
- Lower Bowl premium - Dh795
- Lower Bowl Plus - Dh695
- Lower Bowl Standard- Dh595
- Upper Bowl Premium - Dh395
- Upper Bowl standard - Dh295
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Why seagrass matters
- Carbon sink: Seagrass sequesters carbon up to 35X faster than tropical rainforests
- Marine nursery: Crucial habitat for juvenile fish, crustations, and invertebrates
- Biodiversity: Support species like sea turtles, dugongs, and seabirds
- Coastal protection: Reduce erosion and improve water quality
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Specs
Engine: Electric motor generating 54.2kWh (Cooper SE and Aceman SE), 64.6kW (Countryman All4 SE)
Power: 218hp (Cooper and Aceman), 313hp (Countryman)
Torque: 330Nm (Cooper and Aceman), 494Nm (Countryman)
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh158,000 (Cooper), Dh168,000 (Aceman), Dh190,000 (Countryman)
KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
Jetour T1 specs
Engine: 2-litre turbocharged
Power: 254hp
Torque: 390Nm
Price: From Dh126,000
Available: Now
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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Zayed Sustainability Prize
MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE – FINAL RECKONING
Director: Christopher McQuarrie
Starring: Tom Cruise, Hayley Atwell, Simon Pegg
Rating: 4/5
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6 UNDERGROUND
Director: Michael Bay
Stars: Ryan Reynolds, Adria Arjona, Dave Franco
2.5 / 5 stars
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
West Indies v England ODI series:
West Indies squad: Jason Holder (c), Fabian Allen, Devendra Bishoo, Darren Bravo, Chris Gayle, Shimron Hetmyer, Shai Hope, Evin Lewis, Ashley Nurse, Keemo Paul, Nicholas Pooran, Rovman Powell, Kemar Roach, Oshane Thomas.
Fixtures:
1st ODI - February 20, Bridgetown
2nd ODI - February 22, Bridgetown
3rd ODI - February 25, St George's
4th ODI - February 27, St George's
5th ODI - March 2, Gros Islet
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Profile of Bitex UAE
Date of launch: November 2018
Founder: Monark Modi
Based: Business Bay, Dubai
Sector: Financial services
Size: Eight employees
Investors: Self-funded to date with $1m of personal savings
THE SIXTH SENSE
Starring: Bruce Willis, Toni Collette, Hayley Joel Osment
Director: M. Night Shyamalan
Rating: 5/5
BMW M5 specs
Engine: 4.4-litre twin-turbo V-8 petrol enging with additional electric motor
Power: 727hp
Torque: 1,000Nm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 10.6L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh650,000
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The five pillars of Islam
Stormy seas
Weather warnings show that Storm Eunice is soon to make landfall. The videographer and I are scrambling to return to the other side of the Channel before it does. As we race to the port of Calais, I see miles of wire fencing topped with barbed wire all around it, a silent ‘Keep Out’ sign for those who, unlike us, aren’t lucky enough to have the right to move freely and safely across borders.
We set sail on a giant ferry whose length dwarfs the dinghies migrants use by nearly a 100 times. Despite the windy rain lashing at the portholes, we arrive safely in Dover; grateful but acutely aware of the miserable conditions the people we’ve left behind are in and of the privilege of choice.
Dust and sand storms compared
Sand storm
- Particle size: Larger, heavier sand grains
- Visibility: Often dramatic with thick "walls" of sand
- Duration: Short-lived, typically localised
- Travel distance: Limited
- Source: Open desert areas with strong winds
Dust storm
- Particle size: Much finer, lightweight particles
- Visibility: Hazy skies but less intense
- Duration: Can linger for days
- Travel distance: Long-range, up to thousands of kilometres
- Source: Can be carried from distant regions
The specs
Price, base / as tested Dh1,100,000 (est)
Engine 5.2-litre V10
Gearbox seven-speed dual clutch
Power 630bhp @ 8,000rpm
Torque 600Nm @ 6,500rpm
Fuel economy, combined 15.7L / 100km (est)
Lexus LX700h specs
Engine: 3.4-litre twin-turbo V6 plus supplementary electric motor
Power: 464hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 790Nm from 2,000-3,600rpm
Transmission: 10-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 11.7L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh590,000
Oppenheimer
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The five pillars of Islam
How to donate
Send “thenational” to the following numbers or call the hotline on: 0502955999
2289 – Dh10
2252 – Dh 50
6025 – Dh20
6027 – Dh 100
6026 – Dh 200
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