Max Verstappen continued his Formula One comeback charge with the fastest time in practice for the Mexico City Grand Prix while McLaren rivals struggled.
Red Bull's four times world champion, who has roared back into contention after being 104 points adrift at the end of August, lapped the Hermanos Rodriguez circuit in a best time of one minute 17.392 seconds despite complaining the medium tyre was like driving on ice.
The Dutch driver is 40 points adrift of McLaren's Oscar Piastri, and 26 behind the same team's Lando Norris, with five rounds remaining.
Ferrari's Charles Leclerc, fastest in a sunny first session with nine rookies or reserves replacing regular race drivers in line with regulations to give them track time, was second on the overall timesheets but 0.153 slower.
Verstappen had given up his car to up-and-coming F2 driver Arvid Lindblad for first practice and the Briton looked after it well while still going sixth fastest - best of the non-race drivers.
Mercedes' Kimi Antonelli was second and third in the respective sessions, with Norris fourth and 0.251 off the pace after sitting out the first practice while Mexican IndyCar driver Pato O'Ward took his car.
Verstappen has won five races in Mexico, including three of the last four. And he is coming off a win in the United States Grand Prix in Texas last weekend as part of a recent surge.
It wasn't long ago that Verstappen's chances of defending his title had been all but written off. Now another win could put him right back in contention.
“To be honest with you, to still be in this fight is very surprising,” Verstappen said. "Like I said before, we need to be perfect. But for me, it’s just positive pressure."
Verstappen knows the track well — aside from the Red Bull Ring in Austria, it's the only circuit where he has won five races.
The Mexican GP is raced over 71 laps on the 4.304km track of Mexico City’s Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez circuit, which boasts 17 corners and sits at an altitude of 2,200m above sea level. The thin air generates less downforce, making the car setup more demanding for the teams.
“The circuit tends to suit our car, the high altitude always brings unique challenges,” Verstappen said. “Mexico is always a fun party atmosphere so it will be exciting to round up the doubleheader there.”
Piastri, who crashed in the sprint race and finished in fifth place at Austin, is winless in four races and has not reached the podium since Monza in Italy, when he finished third.
“I think Verstappen has been very consistent in the last few weekends,” the Australian said. “But there’s no benefit worrying about that, the thing that’s going to help me win this championship is trying to get the most out of myself.”
Analysis
Members of Syria's Alawite minority community face threat in their heartland after one of the deadliest days in country’s recent history. Read more
Red flags
- Promises of high, fixed or 'guaranteed' returns.
- Unregulated structured products or complex investments often used to bypass traditional safeguards.
- Lack of clear information, vague language, no access to audited financials.
- Overseas companies targeting investors in other jurisdictions - this can make legal recovery difficult.
- Hard-selling tactics - creating urgency, offering 'exclusive' deals.
Courtesy: Carol Glynn, founder of Conscious Finance Coaching
Various Artists
Habibi Funk: An Eclectic Selection Of Music From The Arab World (Habibi Funk)
2.0
Director: S Shankar
Producer: Lyca Productions; presented by Dharma Films
Cast: Rajnikanth, Akshay Kumar, Amy Jackson, Sudhanshu Pandey
Rating: 3.5/5 stars
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.”
In numbers: China in Dubai
The number of Chinese people living in Dubai: An estimated 200,000
Number of Chinese people in International City: Almost 50,000
Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2018/19: 120,000
Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2010: 20,000
Percentage increase in visitors in eight years: 500 per cent
PREMIER LEAGUE FIXTURES
Saturday (UAE kick-off times)
Watford v Leicester City (3.30pm)
Brighton v Arsenal (6pm)
West Ham v Wolves (8.30pm)
Bournemouth v Crystal Palace (10.45pm)
Sunday
Newcastle United v Sheffield United (5pm)
Aston Villa v Chelsea (7.15pm)
Everton v Liverpool (10pm)
Monday
Manchester City v Burnley (11pm)
Monster Hunter: World
Capcom
PlayStation 4, Xbox One
'THE WORST THING YOU CAN EAT'
Trans fat is typically found in fried and baked goods, but you may be consuming more than you think.
Powdered coffee creamer, microwave popcorn and virtually anything processed with a crust is likely to contain it, as this guide from Mayo Clinic outlines:
Baked goods - Most cakes, cookies, pie crusts and crackers contain shortening, which is usually made from partially hydrogenated vegetable oil. Ready-made frosting is another source of trans fat.
Snacks - Potato, corn and tortilla chips often contain trans fat. And while popcorn can be a healthy snack, many types of packaged or microwave popcorn use trans fat to help cook or flavour the popcorn.
Fried food - Foods that require deep frying — french fries, doughnuts and fried chicken — can contain trans fat from the oil used in the cooking process.
Refrigerator dough - Products such as canned biscuits and cinnamon rolls often contain trans fat, as do frozen pizza crusts.
Creamer and margarine - Nondairy coffee creamer and stick margarines also may contain partially hydrogenated vegetable oils.
RESULTS
Mumbai Indians 181-4 (20 ovs)
Kolkata Knight Riders 168-6 (20ovs)
Mumbai won by 13 runs
Rajasthan Royals 152-9 (20 ovs)
Kings XI Punjab 155-4 (18.4 ovs)
Kings XI Punjab won by 6 wickets
