Mark Webber believes the role Red Bull Racing team owner Dietrich Mateschitz has had in Formula One for the past 10 years has not received the recognition it deserves.
The futures of Red Bull and Toro Rosso, the other F1 team that Mateschitz owns, have been in doubt due to both struggling to find an engine manufacturer to supply them for 2015.
Toro Rosso are expected to use Ferrari power units next season and Red Bull are rumoured to be remaining with Renault, whom they had planned to leave after being disappointed with their performance, only to find Mercedes or Ferrari unwilling to supply them.
Webber, 36, who drove for Red Bull from 2007 to 2013, and won all nine of his races with them, said Mateschitz’s organisation had brought some stability to the grid in the past decade in an era when several teams had deserted the sport.
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In a telephone interview, Webber said of his former employer: “He has employed a huge number of people in his time in F1.
“There have been no defaults, no issues and it has been a sensational contribution to the top-end of motorsport, which a lot of people have been very thankful for and relied on that in a very consistent way and that has to be acknowledged and recognised because it has not always been like that for other teams, as we all well know.
“All those people who have ever worked for him, there has never been a bad word said about working for both those teams. Even when he took on Toro Rosso from Minardi back in the day, just how he did that was completely correct.”
Mateschitz had threatened to withdraw his teams from F1 at the end of the season if they did not have a competitive engine at their disposal for 2016.
While that no longer seems likely, Webber does not blame the Austrian for being disillusioned by the important role engines are now having in the running of F1.
“I think the lack of control is probably the biggest frustration,” he said. “Of being able to plug this gap (to the front of the grid) with a competitive engine and find something that is suitable for them to stay at the front.
“But it is proving extremely difficult, and that is pretty bizarre for the sport, pretty bizarre for Formula One to be in this situation.”
gcaygill@thenational.ae
Follow us on Twitter @NatSportUAE
Skewed figures
In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458.
The specs
Engine: 6.2-litre V8
Transmission: ten-speed
Power: 420bhp
Torque: 624Nm
Price: Dh325,125
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A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
Company%20Profile
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CDU: "Now is the time to control the German borders and enforce strict border rejections"
SPD: "Border closures and blanket rejections at internal borders contradict the spirit of a common area of freedom"
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Favourite Quote: Prophet Mohammad's quotes There is reward for kindness to every living thing and A good man treats women with honour
Favourite Hobby: Serving poor people
Favourite Book: The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
Favourite food: Fish and vegetables
Favourite place to visit: London
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
The rules on fostering in the UAE
A foster couple or family must:
- be Muslim, Emirati and be residing in the UAE
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- be free of infectious diseases or psychological and mental disorders
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- 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
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
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UAE v Gibraltar
What: International friendly
When: 7pm kick off
Where: Rugby Park, Dubai Sports City
Admission: Free
Online: The match will be broadcast live on Dubai Exiles’ Facebook page
UAE squad: Lucas Waddington (Dubai Exiles), Gio Fourie (Exiles), Craig Nutt (Abu Dhabi Harlequins), Phil Brady (Harlequins), Daniel Perry (Dubai Hurricanes), Esekaia Dranibota (Harlequins), Matt Mills (Exiles), Jaen Botes (Exiles), Kristian Stinson (Exiles), Murray Reason (Abu Dhabi Saracens), Dave Knight (Hurricanes), Ross Samson (Jebel Ali Dragons), DuRandt Gerber (Exiles), Saki Naisau (Dragons), Andrew Powell (Hurricanes), Emosi Vacanau (Harlequins), Niko Volavola (Dragons), Matt Richards (Dragons), Luke Stevenson (Harlequins), Josh Ives (Dubai Sports City Eagles), Sean Stevens (Saracens), Thinus Steyn (Exiles)
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AT4 Ultimate, as tested
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Power: 420hp
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Transmission: 10-speed automatic
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THE SPECS
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Torque: 780Nm
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
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Scoreline
Swansea 2
Grimes 20' (pen), Celina, 29'
Man City 3
Silva 69', Nordfeldt 78' (og), Aguero 88'
The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
