LONDON // Felipe Massa's Formula One title hopes rest in the hands of others after the sport's first night race in Singapore turned into a nightmare for the Ferrari driver.
A bungled first pit-stop, caused by a mechanic's error, robbed the Brazilian driver of victory and left him empty-handed and seven points adrift of the championship leader Lewis Hamilton of the McLaren team with three races remaining.
"Seven points to make up in three races? that can be a lot or it can be a little," Massa said, putting a brave face on his apparently dwindling prospects of becoming Brazil's first champion since the late Ayrton Senna.
"We have the potential to do well and we will give it our best shot. We mustn't give up and I'm sure we won't."
The cold mathematics state however that Hamilton need not win again this season to become Formula One's youngest champion at the age of 23.
Massa can lead all the way to the chequered flag in Japan, China and the grand finale in his native Brazil and still end up runner-up if his British rival follows home in second place every time.
The Brazilian must hope that teammate Kimi Raikkonen, who recognised his title defence was at an end after failing to score for the fourth race in a row, can raise his game significantly.
The Ferrari team boss Stefano Domenicali told reporters that perfection, for a team that has fallen far from the days when it was the slickest operation in the pit-lane, had to be the aim from now on.
"We will approach the last three races with the fact that we can do first and second every time, because we have the potential to do it," he said.
That much is undeniable, with Ferrari chalking up three one-two finishes already this season and also enjoying a run of four wins in a row in the early part of the year.
Raikkonen won in China and Brazil last year to take the championship by a single point but his form has deserted him, with the Finn crashing out yesterday and taking just 22 points from his last 10 races.
"I know what the team wants, they want to win the world championship and we will see what happens," he said after Sunday's race. "I'm out of the championship anyhow."
While so-called 'team orders' are banned, Domenicali left little doubt about the role Raikkonen will be expected to fulfil.
"I'm pretty sure he knows what he has to do and he will fight because he's part of the team, so I don't have any doubt about that," he said.
Hamilton headed for Japan last year with a two-point lead over then teammate Fernando Alonso, winner for Renault on Sunday, and 13 points clear of Raikkonen.
By China, he was 12 points clear of the Spaniard and 17 ahead of the Finn. And yet the rookie still allowed the title to slip through his fingers by a single point.
Massa's misfortune only served to remind him that the sport has a habit of throwing up nasty surprises and nothing can be taken for granted.
"Moving forward, I think we approach it (the next few races) the same as we have this weekend and definitely don't get ahead of ourselves because, as you can see, lots of things can happen," Hamilton said.
*Reuters
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
SHAITTAN
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EVikas%20Bahl%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarring%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EAjay%20Devgn%2C%20R.%20Madhavan%2C%20Jyothika%2C%20Janaki%20Bodiwala%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E3%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
COMPANY%20PROFILE
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Switch%20Foods%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%202022%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounder%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Edward%20Hamod%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Abu%20Dhabi%2C%20UAE%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EIndustry%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Plant-based%20meat%20production%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ENumber%20of%20employees%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%2034%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFunding%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20%246.5%20million%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFunding%20round%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Seed%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Based%20in%20US%20and%20across%20Middle%20East%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
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
How much sugar is in chocolate Easter eggs?
- The 169g Crunchie egg has 15.9g of sugar per 25g serving, working out at around 107g of sugar per egg
- The 190g Maltesers Teasers egg contains 58g of sugar per 100g for the egg and 19.6g of sugar in each of the two Teasers bars that come with it
- The 188g Smarties egg has 113g of sugar per egg and 22.8g in the tube of Smarties it contains
- The Milky Bar white chocolate Egg Hunt Pack contains eight eggs at 7.7g of sugar per egg
- The Cadbury Creme Egg contains 26g of sugar per 40g egg
SERIE A FIXTURES
Friday Sassuolo v Torino (Kick-off 10.45pm UAE)
Saturday Atalanta v Sampdoria (5pm),
Genoa v Inter Milan (8pm),
Lazio v Bologna (10.45pm)
Sunday Cagliari v Crotone (3.30pm)
Benevento v Napoli (6pm)
Parma v Spezia (6pm)
Fiorentina v Udinese (9pm)
Juventus v Hellas Verona (11.45pm)
Monday AC Milan v AS Roma (11.45pm)
if you go
The flights
Flydubai flies to Podgorica or nearby Tivat via Sarajevo from Dh2,155 return including taxes. Turkish Airlines flies from Abu Dhabi and Dubai to Podgorica via Istanbul; alternatively, fly with Flydubai from Dubai to Belgrade and take a short flight with Montenegro Air to Podgorica. Etihad flies from Abu Dhabi to Podgorica via Belgrade. Flights cost from about Dh3,000 return including taxes. There are buses from Podgorica to Plav.
The tour
While you can apply for a permit for the route yourself, it’s best to travel with an agency that will arrange it for you. These include Zbulo in Albania (www.zbulo.org) or Zalaz in Montenegro (www.zalaz.me).
