ABU DHABI // Imperious and impish, Sebastian Vettel proved himself so dominant at Sunday’s Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix that, even after 55 laps, he finished having faced less traffic than a driver who failed to make it past the first corner.
In typically defiant celebration, the loveable rogue pleased the sell-out crowd with a series of smoking, on-track doughnuts.
Kimi Raikkonen, last year’s winner, had been forced to retire after crashing at the first turn of the first lap. Moments later, the Finnish driver was seen climbing into his rental car, where he surely hit the UAE’s notorious congestion as he headed for the solace of his hotel.
Vettel, in contrast, sailed off into the sunset on a solo voyage at Yas Marina Circuit without issue, passing Red Bull Racing teammate and pole-sitter Mark Webber immediately and retaining the lead for every subsequent circumnavigation of the 5.55-kilometre track.
After six laps, his lead was 5.5 seconds. After seven laps, his lead was 6.4s. After eight laps, his lead was 7 seconds. After nine laps, his lead was 8.2. After crossing the line, the stop-clock ran for another 30 seconds before another driver, Webber, secured second place. Nico Rosberg of Mercedes-GP was next, a further 2.8s behind.
Vettel’s victory was his seventh in succession, equalling the modern-day record set by German compatriot Michael Schumacher in 2004.
Emotional on a podium that he has stood atop three times in five years, Vettel struggled to coherently explain his feelings in front of a vocal crowd that included his mother and father.
When later informed that a 37th career triumph means he is now only four wins from equalling the late Ayrton Senna’s career total, he replied solemnly: “Please stop mentioning these kind of things because it means I remember what they mean”.
In a season in which the four-time champion won 11 races, never has he appeared as commanding as he did last night in Abu Dhabi.
Under the floodlights, he was never under pressure. Vettel also won 11 races in 2011 en route to his second world title. At the time, he remarked that it was a unique achievement that happens only once in a lifetime.
Last night, with the sky dark, the air humid and a thunderous performance complete, he conceded lightning had struck twice.
“I remember when I was a small kid watching Formula One and Michael was with Ferrari and dominating,” said Vettel, 26. “If you look back, you feel like he won every second race, so managing to equal what he did is something very special.
“After 2011, a special year, we said it would be very difficult to repeat a season like that and maybe it happens only once in a lifetime. Now, we can probably say it has happened twice.”
Victories at the remaining races in the United States and Brazil would see Vettel not only emulate Alberto Ascari’s record of nine consecutive wins, set across the 1952 and 1953 seasons, but would also see him equal Schumacher’s 2004 record of 13 wins in one season.
“The numbers are not that important to me, but equally they make me very proud,” Vettel said. “Schumacher and Ascari are some of the most-special drivers in the world of Formula One – I don’t think I’m old enough to really appreciate yet.”
Webber, 37, is 11 years older than Vettel, and despite the frosty relationship between the two teammates, the Australian driver had nothing but praise.
“He was on another category out in front,” Webber said. “He’s in a sweet spot, for sure. Obviously, I’ve got a few grey hairs now – I’m doing my best, but he’s driving well.”
Not only is Vettel driving well, he is also turning fans frowns upside down with his post-race wheelspins. Booed for much of the latter half of an increasingly predictable season, he generated cheers in India when he pulled doughnuts after his victory near Delhi.
The sport’s governing body fined him £21,000 (Dh122,830), yet he rebelled once again to spin repeatedly on the Yas track in front of a packed grandstand.
“You are a naughty boy,” remarked Martin Brundle, the former F1 driver, as he presented Vettel to the crowd.
The mischievous German simply grinned – and refused to rule out spinning more doughnuts in the future.
gmeenaghan@thenational.ae
Nayanthara: Beyond The Fairy Tale
Starring: Nayanthara, Vignesh Shivan, Radhika Sarathkumar, Nagarjuna Akkineni
Director: Amith Krishnan
Rating: 3.5/5
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
The specs
Engine: Four electric motors, one at each wheel
Power: 579hp
Torque: 859Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh825,900
On sale: Now
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
Baby Driver
Director: Edgar Wright
Starring: Ansel Elgort, Kevin Spacey, Jamie Foxx, Lily James
Three and a half stars
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
2025 Fifa Club World Cup groups
Group A: Palmeiras, Porto, Al Ahly, Inter Miami.
Group B: Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid, Botafogo, Seattle.
Group C: Bayern Munich, Auckland City, Boca Juniors, Benfica.
Group D: Flamengo, ES Tunis, Chelsea, Leon.
Group E: River Plate, Urawa, Monterrey, Inter Milan.
Group F: Fluminense, Borussia Dortmund, Ulsan, Mamelodi Sundowns.
Group G: Manchester City, Wydad, Al Ain, Juventus.
Group H: Real Madrid, Al Hilal, Pachuca, Salzburg.
The%20specs
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The rules on fostering in the UAE
A foster couple or family must:
- be Muslim, Emirati and be residing in the UAE
- not be younger than 25 years old
- not have been convicted of offences or crimes involving moral turpitude
- be free of infectious diseases or psychological and mental disorders
- have the ability to support its members and the foster child financially
- undertake to treat and raise the child in a proper manner and take care of his or her health and well-being
- A single, divorced or widowed Muslim Emirati female, residing in the UAE may apply to foster a child if she is at least 30 years old and able to support the child financially
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
