The Super Aguri mechanics carry Japanese driver Takuma Sato's car to the pits of the Sakhir racetrack. The team folded earlier this year.
The Super Aguri mechanics carry Japanese driver Takuma Sato's car to the pits of the Sakhir racetrack. The team folded earlier this year.

Other Sport

The wheels are off for F1

Formula One must slash costs by 2010 or face serious problems, the FIA president Max Mosley has warned.

Graham Caygill

October 08, 2008

LONDON // Formula One must slash costs by 2010 or face serious problems, the International Automobile Federation (FIA) president Max Mosley has warned. The Briton told the BBC that the global credit crunch had only made matters worse for the big-spending sport and there was a serious risk of some teams walking away if matters were not taken in hand.

"It has become apparent, long before the current difficulties, that Formula One was unsustainable," he said. Abu Dhabi has been confirmed as the venue to host Formula One's finale for next year's series, one of 18 rounds worldwide. "It really is a very serious situation," added Mosley. " If we can't get this (the cost cutting measures) done for 2010, we will be in serious difficulty." One team, Honda-backed Super Aguri, folded in May due to financial problems while others are either bankrolled by billionaires or owned by car manufacturers against a backdrop of reduced sales and falling share prices.

With the Toro Rosso team up for sale and looking for new ownership there is no guarantee just how long the grid will stay at 20, having started this season at 22. "At the moment we've got 20 cars," said Mosley. "If we lost two teams, we'd have 16. (If we lost) three teams (we'd have) 14. It then would cease to be a credible grid." Williams chief executive Adam Parr said last week that some of the teams could save around $200 million (Dh750m) a year if they were able to reduce their spending to the same level as the former champions.

Toyota are widely estimated to spend more than $400m a year on a team that has yet to win a race.Parr, whose team this month announced a loss of $38m last season, also said there was an urgent need for measures to be in place for 2010. The FIA this week gave Mosley authority to negotiate with the teams association FOTA to introduce "radical measures to achieve a substantial reduction of costs in the championship from 2010".

The governing body said that, failing agreement, it would enforce necessary measures. "The days when they (the teams) could just toss out the 100, 200, 400 million euros a year, which is what Formula One costs those big companies, I think they are finished," said Mosley. Following the meeting in Paris, the World Motor Sport Council (WMSC) issued the following statement. "The WMSC unanimously agreed to give the FIA President authority to negotiate with the Formula One Teams Association (FOTA) the introduction of radical measures to achieve a substantial reduction of costs in the championship from 2010.

"Failing agreement with FOTA, the FIA will enforce the necessary measures to achieve this goal. "It was further unanimously agreed to allow Formula One teams to equalise engine performance across the field for 2009. "That is pending the introduction of cost-saving measures from 2010." gcaygill@thenational.ae Raikkonen can still be driving force for Ferrari, s2-3

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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.

Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.

“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.

“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.

Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.

From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.

Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.

BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.

Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.

Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.

“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.

“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.

“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”

The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”

The design

The protective shell is covered in solar panels to make use of light and produce energy. This will drastically reduce energy loss.

More than 80 per cent of the energy consumed by the French pavilion will be produced by the sun.

The architecture will control light sources to provide a highly insulated and airtight building.

The forecourt is protected from the sun and the plants will refresh the inner spaces.

A micro water treatment plant will recycle used water to supply the irrigation for the plants and to flush the toilets. This will reduce the pavilion’s need for fresh water by 30 per cent.

Energy-saving equipment will be used for all lighting and projections.

Beyond its use for the expo, the pavilion will be easy to dismantle and reuse the material.

Some elements of the metal frame can be prefabricated in a factory.

 From architects to sound technicians and construction companies, a group of experts from 10 companies have created the pavilion.

Work will begin in May; the first stone will be laid in Dubai in the second quarter of 2019. 

Construction of the pavilion will take 17 months from May 2019 to September 2020.