SAO PAULO // The Brawn GP driver Rubens Barrichello has revealed he has held talks with Williams and will remain in Formula One next season.
The Brazilian, however, denied he had already signed a deal with Williams, saying he was also in discussions to renew his contract with his present team.
"That it's true there are talks with Williams and with Brawn, there's no doubt. But I haven't signed any papers," Barrichello said.
"I read about everything that's been said and made it quite clear that this is a very special moment for me in Formula One.
"Today I feel very honoured that there are teams trying [for me], that there are teams I'm talking to and that my situation is a lot better than for some time."
Barrichello, second in the drivers' championship 14 points behind teammate Jenson Button, must win his home Grand Prix on Sunday to realistically carry the title race over to the last race in Abu Dhabi.
Even that might not be enough since Button can lift the title with a race to spare if he comes in third or higher in Brazil.
Barrichello, whose best Brazilian Grand Prix finish at Interlagos was third in 2004 with Ferrari, will base his decision about his future on the most competitive car. Brawn lead the constructors' championship this season. Williams are sixth.
"I'm at a very privileged stage of my career in being able to choose the car in which I'll compete. I very much want a competitive car for next season," he said.
Barrichello, the oldest driver in Formula One at 37, has raced in a record 286 Grands Prix and believes he has reached the peak of his career. "It's my best season and the start of reaping things I sowed in the past," said the Brazilian, twice a title runner-up with Ferrari.
Meanwhile, the Williams team have confirmed they are ending their engine partnership with Toyota after the last race of the season in Abu Dhabi, but have not announced who will be supplying them with engines in 2010.
* Reuters
Janet Yellen's Firsts
- In 2014, she became the first woman to lead the US Federal Reserve
- In 1999, she became the first female chair of the White House Council of Economic Advisers
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More from Armen Sarkissian
What is graphene?
Graphene is a single layer of carbon atoms arranged like honeycomb.
It was discovered in 2004, when Russian-born Manchester scientists Andrei Geim and Kostya Novoselov were "playing about" with sticky tape and graphite - the material used as "lead" in pencils.
Placing the tape on the graphite and peeling it, they managed to rip off thin flakes of carbon. In the beginning they got flakes consisting of many layers of graphene. But as they repeated the process many times, the flakes got thinner.
By separating the graphite fragments repeatedly, they managed to create flakes that were just one atom thick. Their experiment had led to graphene being isolated for the very first time.
At the time, many believed it was impossible for such thin crystalline materials to be stable. But examined under a microscope, the material remained stable, and when tested was found to have incredible properties.
It is many times times stronger than steel, yet incredibly lightweight and flexible. It is electrically and thermally conductive but also transparent. The world's first 2D material, it is one million times thinner than the diameter of a single human hair.
But the 'sticky tape' method would not work on an industrial scale. Since then, scientists have been working on manufacturing graphene, to make use of its incredible properties.
In 2010, Geim and Novoselov were awarded the Nobel Prize for Physics. Their discovery meant physicists could study a new class of two-dimensional materials with unique properties.
What the law says
Micro-retirement is not a recognised concept or employment status under Federal Decree Law No. 33 of 2021 on the Regulation of Labour Relations (as amended) (UAE Labour Law). As such, it reflects a voluntary work-life balance practice, rather than a recognised legal employment category, according to Dilini Loku, senior associate for law firm Gateley Middle East.
“Some companies may offer formal sabbatical policies or career break programmes; however, beyond such arrangements, there is no automatic right or statutory entitlement to extended breaks,” she explains.
“Any leave taken beyond statutory entitlements, such as annual leave, is typically regarded as unpaid leave in accordance with Article 33 of the UAE Labour Law. While employees may legally take unpaid leave, such requests are subject to the employer’s discretion and require approval.”
If an employee resigns to pursue micro-retirement, the employment contract is terminated, and the employer is under no legal obligation to rehire the employee in the future unless specific contractual agreements are in place (such as return-to-work arrangements), which are generally uncommon, Ms Loku adds.
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.
