Two-time world champion Fernando Alonso has fulfilled his lifelong ambition of wearing the Ferrari red.
Two-time world champion Fernando Alonso has fulfilled his lifelong ambition of wearing the Ferrari red.

Alonso will look to stay up on the Prancing Horse



In finally wearing the Ferrari red, Fernando Alonso has fulfilled a lifelong ambition and does not expect to wear any other team colours for the rest of his career. The two-time world champion made his first official appearance for the team yesterday and immediately enamoured himself to their following as he announced he wanted more titles before retiring from racing while at the Italian team.

"Coming to Ferrari is the best any driver can do in their career. I think Ferrari is more than just a Formula One team," said Alonso, who, after constant speculation, signed a three-year contract to replace Kimi Raikkonen. "For me, what is missing are more world championships. I still miss that. "I've thought a lot about finishing first. At the end of 2009 we were not capable of fighting for anything important with Renault so my thoughts were already on 2010.

"I thought about having a great championship season with Ferrari and enjoying a lot of success - and to change my life too. I'm not going to race in Formula One for the rest of my life. "This is surely going to be my last time, to have success and leave a nice flavour. In future years, I hope to leave this team with as much success as possible. "There are many expectations and plenty of motivation from me and the team; for this year and the future.

"But I am more prepared now than in the past. I feel more ready than I did at McLaren and when I won the two world championships at Renault." In the picturesque surrounding of the Dolomites for the Wrooom event, hosted by Ferrari sponsor Marlboro in Italy, Alonso, 29, looked completely at ease. Even a fall while skiing did not dampen his mood - ironically on the Schumacher Slope, named after the former Ferrari hero.

But he will be hoping not to falter when he comes up against Michael Schumacher on the track. The German is making his comeback with Mercedes GP after retiring in 2006 when Alonso beat him to the title. "That could be motivation for him," added Alonso. "We had been rivals in those last two years, intense rivals in 2006. Now I am at Ferrari, where he won so much, it's also motivation for me to enjoy the feelings he had in front of the fans.

"I am happy he is returning, happy for the sport. Michael has raced at the highest level and to stay home is not easy for a competitor such as him. The adrenaline to race at this level is high and it's difficult to go back to zero. Michael has shown he was one of the best. It doesn't matter if you are 31 or 41, your competitiveness does not go." All eyes will be on Schumacher when he does return for the season-opener in Bahrain on March 14.

Alonso says it will be "nearly impossible" to emulate the veteran's record of seven world titles. But a championship in his debut season at Ferrari, just like Raikkonen achieved in 2007, is the target. Stefano Domenicali, the team principal, said Alonso can win if he has the right car. And the driver laughed: "If the boss said this then I have to say the same. "I have to start well with the boss. I know I have to adjust quickly to the car and the first two or three races I won't be 100 per cent adjusted to the car and team. But from race four you will see the best version of Alonso and the Ferrari."

@Email:akhan@thenational.ae

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MATCH INFO

Manchester City 1 Chelsea 0
De Bruyne (70')

Man of the Match: Kevin de Bruyne (Manchester City)

NEW%20PRICING%20SCHEME%20FOR%20APPLE%20MUSIC%2C%20TV%2B%20AND%20ONE
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EApple%20Music%3Cbr%3EMonthly%20individual%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E%2410.99%20(from%20%249.99)%3Cstrong%3E%3Cbr%3EMonthly%20family%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E%2416.99%20(from%20%2414.99)%3Cstrong%3E%3Cbr%3EIndividual%20annual%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E%24109%20(from%20%2499)%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EApple%20TV%2B%3Cbr%3EMonthly%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E%246.99%20(from%20%244.99)%3Cstrong%3E%3Cbr%3EAnnual%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E%2469%20(from%20%2449.99)%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EApple%20One%3Cbr%3EMonthly%20individual%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E%2416.95%20(from%20%2414.95)%3Cstrong%3E%3Cbr%3EMonthly%20family%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E%2422.95%20(from%20%2419.95)%3Cstrong%3E%3Cbr%3EMonthly%20premier%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E%2432.95%20(from%20%2429.95)%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The smuggler

Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple. 
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.

Khouli conviction

Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.

For sale

A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.

- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico

- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000

- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950

At a glance

Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.

 

Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year

 

Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month

 

Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30 

 

Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse

 

Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth

 

Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances

Museum of the Future in numbers
  •  78 metres is the height of the museum
  •  30,000 square metres is its total area
  •  17,000 square metres is the length of the stainless steel facade
  •  14 kilometres is the length of LED lights used on the facade
  •  1,024 individual pieces make up the exterior 
  •  7 floors in all, with one for administrative offices
  •  2,400 diagonally intersecting steel members frame the torus shape
  •  100 species of trees and plants dot the gardens
  •  Dh145 is the price of a ticket
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