Despite appearances, Formula One arrives in the Middle East on Thursday with plenty to play for.
Ok, Lewis Hamilton has wrapped up an earth-shattering seventh world title in some style but there is plenty still at stake.
I’m curious to see how successful the new Bahrain format will be over the next two Sundays: two rounds a week apart, same circuit but different layout.
It could be a great solution to expanding the calendar without increasing the life-wreckingly unsustainable global traveling regime teams are forced to endure.
The 23-race calendar announced for 2021 will, of course, be the most extensive and gruelling in the sport's history.
For my money its too many and too often. The fans I have spoken to generally have that viewpoint.
But others would argue football is on every weekend and often a game slotted in mid-week as well for teams playing in European competition.
Sunday’s race is around the traditional 5.4km layout and the Sakhir GP seven days later uses about half of that and is as close to an oval circuit as modern F1 has ever come.
There are three left-handed kinks in mid-chicanes but otherwise it’s 11 corners, all right-handers and a sub-60s lap.
Of course if you’ve ever seen a proper oval Indycar race you’ll know this is nothing like it. They are four corner banked affairs in which the cars battling for first and second can be circling above those duking it out for 15th and 16th.
It’s not something I, personally, like but apparently they lap it up in America with something happening somewhere every, ohhh, three seconds. But given F1 now has American owners it’s no surprise this experiment is, at least, being tried.
Then there’s the battle for third place that has been going on behind the Mercedes snooze-fest.
With Red Bull having all-but tied up the runner’s-up spot, just 24 points separate Racing Point in third and Ferrari in sixth. (To lay it out: Racing Point 154, McLaren 149, Renault 136 and Ferrari 130)
With a possible 129 points on the table it’s anyone’s game and tens of millions in prize-money at stake.
Ferrari have had a laudable revival but they have been lamentably erratic so they are outsiders, along with Renault, sleeping giant that it is.
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F1 drivers with the most titles
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It's an interesting subplot that Maranello's senior driver Sebastian Vettel (the one who has been dumped) scored their first podium in nearly four months at the last race at his teammate's expense and would like to be going out the door after Abu Dhabi with a few more of those.
The real battle for that third place in the constructors championship probably comes down to Racing Point (the pink Mercedes) and a revitalised McLaren.
Some are painting it as Carlos Sainz versus Sergio Perez. Sainz, son of the rally legend, is off to Ferrari while the outstanding Perez is heading for unemployment.
I don’t see it that way. I know Lance Stroll silenced a few doubters with his pole performance but he is otherwise too unpredictable on raceday.
So Perez will have to go it alone, while McLaren have rising star Lando Norris backing up Sainz. For a rookie, Norris has had a remarkable first season so I'm backing the former champions.
McLaren have the encouragement of a couple of semi ‘home’ races to spice the pot still further as they partly owned by Mumtalakat, the Bahrain sovereign wealth fund.
Perez is in the shootout for the second Red Bull seat along with another ex-Red Bull racer, Nico Hulkenberg. The jungle drums suggest current pilot Alex Albon has been given enough time to prove himself and it has not worked out.
Another major name has been quietly settled, it appears. Mick Schumacher, son of the legendary seven-time champion may have got the nod over Callum Illot, fellow Ferrari Academy pilot, at Haas.
Rumour has it the powers that be have decided not to wait and see who comes out on top in the tightly contested final two rounds of the F2 championship in Bahrain.
Much else is in the melting pot too. Behind the scenes F1’s entire long-term future with or without combustion engines is very much in discussion.
Although F1 is sticking with the hybrid set-up and fossil fuels for the next five years (with one billion cars on the planet how could they not?) everything after that is the subject of fierce debate.
The electric power scene has already grabbed by Formula E so where is left for F1 move forward and still be relevant to its fans worldwide and the global commercial markets as fossil fuels disappear ?
In Bahrain, team bosses know it’s not over, in fact it’s only just beginning.
Terror attacks in Paris, November 13, 2015
- At 9.16pm, three suicide attackers killed one person outside the Atade de France during a foootball match between France and Germany
- At 9.25pm, three attackers opened fire on restaurants and cafes over 20 minutes, killing 39 people
- Shortly after 9.40pm, three other attackers launched a three-hour raid on the Bataclan, in which 1,500 people had gathered to watch a rock concert. In total, 90 people were killed
- Salah Abdeslam, the only survivor of the terrorists, did not directly participate in the attacks, thought to be due to a technical glitch in his suicide vest
- He fled to Belgium and was involved in attacks on Brussels in March 2016. He is serving a life sentence in France
Representing%20UAE%20overseas
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Infiniti QX80 specs
Engine: twin-turbocharged 3.5-liter V6
Power: 450hp
Torque: 700Nm
Price: From Dh450,000, Autograph model from Dh510,000
Available: Now
The specs: 2018 Volkswagen Teramont
Price, base / as tested Dh137,000 / Dh189,950
Engine 3.6-litre V6
Gearbox Eight-speed automatic
Power 280hp @ 6,200rpm
Torque 360Nm @ 2,750rpm
Fuel economy, combined 11.7L / 100km
T20 SQUADS
Australia: Aaron Finch (c), Mitchell Marsh, Alex Carey, Ashton Agar, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Chris Lynn, Nathan Lyon, Glenn Maxwell, Ben McDermott, D’Arcy Short, Billy Stanlake, Mitchell Starc, Andrew Tye, Adam Zampa.
Pakistan: Sarfraz Ahmed (c), Fakhar Zaman, Mohammad Hafeez, Sahibzada Farhan, Babar Azam, Shoaib Malik, Asif Ali, Hussain Talat, Shadab Khan, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Usman Khan Shinwari, Hassan Ali, Imad Wasim, Waqas Maqsood, Faheem Ashraf.
Company%20Profile
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THE%20SPECS
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The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre V8 twin-turbocharged and three electric motors
Power: Combined output 920hp
Torque: 730Nm at 4,000-7,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed dual-clutch automatic
Fuel consumption: 11.2L/100km
On sale: Now, deliveries expected later in 2025
Price: expected to start at Dh1,432,000
WHAT IS A BLACK HOLE?
1. Black holes are objects whose gravity is so strong not even light can escape their pull
2. They can be created when massive stars collapse under their own weight
3. Large black holes can also be formed when smaller ones collide and merge
4. The biggest black holes lurk at the centre of many galaxies, including our own
5. Astronomers believe that when the universe was very young, black holes affected how galaxies formed
Karwaan
Producer: Ronnie Screwvala
Director: Akarsh Khurana
Starring: Irrfan Khan, Dulquer Salmaan, Mithila Palkar
Rating: 4/5
Company%20profile
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EName%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20JustClean%3Cbr%3E%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EDubai%20with%20offices%20in%20other%20GCC%20countries%3Cbr%3E%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ELaunch%20year%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%202016%3Cbr%3E%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ENumber%20of%20employees%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20160%2B%20with%2021%20nationalities%20in%20eight%20cities%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3E%3Cbr%3ESector%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20online%20laundry%20and%20cleaning%20services%3Cbr%3E%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFunding%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E%2430m%20from%20Kuwait-based%20Faith%20Capital%20Holding%20and%20Gulf%20Investment%20Corporation%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The lowdown
Bohemian Rhapsody
Director: Bryan Singer
Starring: Rami Malek, Lucy Boynton, Gwilym Lee
Rating: 3/5
Results
Ashraf Ghani 50.64 per cent
Abdullah Abdullah 39.52 per cent
Gulbuddin Hekmatyar 3.85 per cent
Rahmatullah Nabil 1.8 per cent
Groom and Two Brides
Director: Elie Semaan
Starring: Abdullah Boushehri, Laila Abdallah, Lulwa Almulla
Rating: 3/5
What are the influencer academy modules?
- Mastery of audio-visual content creation.
- Cinematography, shots and movement.
- All aspects of post-production.
- Emerging technologies and VFX with AI and CGI.
- Understanding of marketing objectives and audience engagement.
- Tourism industry knowledge.
- Professional ethics.
'Munich: The Edge of War'
Director: Christian Schwochow
Starring: George MacKay, Jannis Niewohner, Jeremy Irons
Rating: 3/5
AI traffic lights to ease congestion at seven points to Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Street
The seven points are:
Shakhbout bin Sultan Street
Dhafeer Street
Hadbat Al Ghubainah Street (outbound)
Salama bint Butti Street
Al Dhafra Street
Rabdan Street
Umm Yifina Street exit (inbound)
RESULT
Bayern Munich 0 AC Milan 4
Milan: Kessie (14'), Cutrone (25', 43'), Calhanoglu (85')
Tewellah by Nawal Zoghbi is out now.
Eyasses squad
Charlie Preston (captain) – goal shooter/ goalkeeper (Dubai College)
Arushi Holt (vice-captain) – wing defence / centre (Jumeriah English Speaking School)
Olivia Petricola (vice-captain) – centre / wing attack (Dubai English Speaking College)
Isabel Affley – goalkeeper / goal defence (Dubai English Speaking College)
Jemma Eley – goal attack / wing attack (Dubai College)
Alana Farrell-Morton – centre / wing / defence / wing attack (Nord Anglia International School)
Molly Fuller – goal attack / wing attack (Dubai College)
Caitlin Gowdy – goal defence / wing defence (Dubai English Speaking College)
Noorulain Hussain – goal defence / wing defence (Dubai College)
Zahra Hussain-Gillani – goal defence / goalkeeper (British School Al Khubairat)
Claire Janssen – goal shooter / goal attack (Jumeriah English Speaking School)
Eliza Petricola – wing attack / centre (Dubai English Speaking College)
U19 WORLD CUP, WEST INDIES
UAE group fixtures (all in St Kitts)
Saturday 15 January: v Canada
Thursday 20 January: v England
Saturday 22 January: v Bangladesh
UAE squad
Alishan Sharafu (captain), Shival Bawa, Jash Giyanani, Sailles Jaishankar, Nilansh Keswani, Aayan Khan, Punya Mehra, Ali Naseer, Ronak Panoly, Dhruv Parashar, Vinayak Raghavan, Soorya Sathish, Aryansh Sharma, Adithya Shetty, Kai Smith
