SINGAPORE // Flawless, immaculate and unerring, Sebastian Vettel's performance under Singapore's stiflingly hot night sky was as close to perfect as you are ever likely to see.
Yet the ultimate reward will have to wait another two weeks; Red Bull Racing's 24 year old is not yet - officially at least - a two-time world champion.
Having lead the race for its entirety, Vettel's victory could have secured him a second successive drivers' title were it not for Jenson Button finishing directly behind him in his McLaren-Mercedes. Mark Webber, Vettel's teammate, finished third.
Button now remains the only man mathematically capable of catching the German, although with Vettel requiring only one point from the final five races, wrapping his second championship up is now mere formality. The next race is in Japan in two weeks.
"I feel capable, but I still have to do it," said an ever-prudent Vettel when asked about his chances of securing the title at Suzuka.
"Obviously, with the races we have had so far, it shouldn't be a big problem. Statistically, the chances are with us, but it's not over until it's over."
Vettel won his maiden championship on the final day of the 2010 season at Yas Marina Circuit, but because his success was dependent on other drivers' finishing positions, he only discovered his fate when Guillaume Rocquelin, his engineer, informed him over the team radio after passing the chequered flag.
Several factors had to be fulfilled last night for Vettel to be crowned in Singapore and he had maintained all weekend that he was adopting a similarly fatalistic approach and not taking notice of the requisites.
"Our target was to win [the race] and it's good to achieve that," he said.
"I made it quite clear before the race that it's not important where the other people were.
"Crossing the line, I didn't know if it was enough or not - it was a little bit similar to Abu Dhabi.
"Obviously hoping for it, but I didn't know where people had to finish."
With the equations far simpler for Suzuka - if Vettel finishes ninth or above, he wins the title - he is confident he will not require his engineer to keep him informed.
"I think the next race I am smart enough to figure it out myself," he said, smiling.
Even if Vettel was not to finish in Suzuka, he would still take the title if Button does not win the race, something the Briton has not done in 11 attempts there.
A combination of emotions that encompassed the champion's first win at Marina Bay Street Circuit, a realisation that his second title is all but secure and an appreciation that the two draining hours of driving in sweltering humidity was complete, resulted in tears on the podium.
"It was a bit of it all," he said, before adding with smirk: "And I had something in my eye."
It was as dominant a performance as has been seen all season; a remarkable achievement considering it was the Red Bull driver's ninth victory of the year.
Having started on pole for the 11th time from 14 races, Vettel had quickly built a gap of 2.5 seconds at the front by the end of the first lap. And it continued to grow by the minute.
Five seconds clear after four laps, seven seconds after five laps, 8.2 seconds after six. By the ninth lap, he was 9.9 seconds clear. It was as impressive as it was formidable.
When Michael Schumacher crashed his Mercedes into a barrier after 29 laps, the safety car appeared for the sixth time in Singapore's four-race history.
Vettel watched as his lead gradually disappeared, but when the race resumed, he quickly returned to what he does best. Within two laps of the restart, he was 8.9 second clear. With only a few laps remaining and Vettel holding an unassailable lead, he eased off and Button closed the gap, but the victory was never in doubt. He crossed the line 1.7 seconds ahead of the field.
"Perfect day in the office," Vettel said. "The speed of the car was phenomenal; it surprised even myself. At stages we were going more than a second quicker than the cars behind. Towards the end, it got tricky with traffic, but we had plenty of room and I was in control."
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Defence review at a glance
• Increase defence spending to 2.5% of GDP by 2027 but given “turbulent times it may be necessary to go faster”
• Prioritise a shift towards working with AI and autonomous systems
• Invest in the resilience of military space systems.
• Number of active reserves should be increased by 20%
• More F-35 fighter jets required in the next decade
• New “hybrid Navy” with AUKUS submarines and autonomous vessels
Why it pays to compare
A comparison of sending Dh20,000 from the UAE using two different routes at the same time - the first direct from a UAE bank to a bank in Germany, and the second from the same UAE bank via an online platform to Germany - found key differences in cost and speed. The transfers were both initiated on January 30.
Route 1: bank transfer
The UAE bank charged Dh152.25 for the Dh20,000 transfer. On top of that, their exchange rate margin added a difference of around Dh415, compared with the mid-market rate.
Total cost: Dh567.25 - around 2.9 per cent of the total amount
Total received: €4,670.30
Route 2: online platform
The UAE bank’s charge for sending Dh20,000 to a UK dirham-denominated account was Dh2.10. The exchange rate margin cost was Dh60, plus a Dh12 fee.
Total cost: Dh74.10, around 0.4 per cent of the transaction
Total received: €4,756
The UAE bank transfer was far quicker – around two to three working days, while the online platform took around four to five days, but was considerably cheaper. In the online platform transfer, the funds were also exposed to currency risk during the period it took for them to arrive.
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
Kandahar%20
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Ric%20Roman%20Waugh%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStars%3A%C2%A0%3C%2Fstrong%3EGerard%20Butler%2C%20Navid%20Negahban%2C%20Ali%20Fazal%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%202.5%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.
The Voice of Hind Rajab
Starring: Saja Kilani, Clara Khoury, Motaz Malhees
Director: Kaouther Ben Hania
Rating: 4/5
Shooting Ghosts: A U.S. Marine, a Combat Photographer, and Their Journey Back from War by Thomas J. Brennan and Finbarr O’Reilly
Film: In Syria
Dir: Philippe Van Leeuw
Starring: Hiam Abbass, Diamand Bo Abboud, Mohsen Abbas and Juliette Navis
Verdict: Four stars
What sanctions would be reimposed?
Under ‘snapback’, measures imposed on Iran by the UN Security Council in six resolutions would be restored, including:
- An arms embargo
- A ban on uranium enrichment and reprocessing
- A ban on launches and other activities with ballistic missiles capable of delivering nuclear weapons, as well as ballistic missile technology transfer and technical assistance
- A targeted global asset freeze and travel ban on Iranian individuals and entities
- Authorisation for countries to inspect Iran Air Cargo and Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines cargoes for banned goods
RESULTS
2.30pm Jaguar I-Pace – Conditions (PA) Dh80,000 (Dirt)
1,600m
Winner Namrood, Antonio Fresu (jockey), Musabah Al Muhairi
(trainer)
3.05pm Land Rover Defender – Maiden (TB) Dh82,500 (D)
1,400m
Winner Shadzadi, Tadhg O’Shea, Bhupat Seemar
3.40pm Jaguar F-Type – Maiden (TB) Dh82,500 (Turf) 1,600m
Winner Tahdeed, Fernando Jara, Nicholas Bachalard
4.15pm New Range Rover – Handicap (TB) Dh87,500 (D) 1,400m
Winner Shanty Star, Richard Mullen, Rashed Bouresly
4.50pm Land Rover – Handicap (TB) Dh95,000 (T) 2,400m
Winner Autumn Pride, Bernardo Pinheiro, Helal Al Alawi
5.25pm Al Tayer Motor – Handicap (TB) Dh95,000 T) 1,000m
Winner Dahawi, Antonio Fresu, Musabah Al Muhairi
6pm Jaguar F-Pace SVR – Handicap (TB) Dh87,500 (D) 1,600m
Winner Scabbard, Sam Hitchcock, Doug Watson
Infiniti QX80 specs
Engine: twin-turbocharged 3.5-liter V6
Power: 450hp
Torque: 700Nm
Price: From Dh450,000, Autograph model from Dh510,000
Available: Now
Specs
Engine: Electric motor generating 54.2kWh (Cooper SE and Aceman SE), 64.6kW (Countryman All4 SE)
Power: 218hp (Cooper and Aceman), 313hp (Countryman)
Torque: 330Nm (Cooper and Aceman), 494Nm (Countryman)
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh158,000 (Cooper), Dh168,000 (Aceman), Dh190,000 (Countryman)
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Conflict, drought, famine
Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.
Band Aid
Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
