ABU DHABI // A sold-out crowd at Sunday’s Formula One Abu Dhabi Grand Prix watched German Nico Rosberg win his third consecutive race of the year, capping off the 2015 season.
The race followed days of festivities, for F1 fans and residents, which included events scattered across the capital and featured a blockbuster entertainment programme.
“It’s exhilarating,” said Muhaimin Fadzail, 16, from Dubai, as the race got under way.
“It’s a once-a-year event for Abu Dhabi. I came here for the atmosphere, the sounds, the vibrations.”
Despite the race’s limited importance in terms of competition – British racer Lewis Hamilton, Rosberg’s Mercedes-GP teammate had already claimed the F1 championship on points at the United States Grand Prix last month – spectators still came out expecting to see a battle for the chequered flag.
With Rosberg starting the race from the pole position, Hamilton – the clear fans’ favourite – was cheered on by the masses in the grandstands, which were dominated with the flags of England and the Union Flag.
“We already know who’s won the championship, but we want to see them fight each other,” said Abu Dhabi resident Riduan Aziz, 32, as he snapped photos of the cars tearing down the straight on the 5.5-kilometre Yas Marina Circuit with the sun setting in background.
“I’m cheering for Hamilton. Even though he’s already won, it’s exciting,” said Ibraheem Mustafa, 14, from Dubai. “It’s all about the competition between him and Rosberg.”
Dubai resident Delicia Murugan, 26, a self-described long-time fan of Hamilton, said she was in town for the entire weekend and was hoping the two-time Abu Dhabi Grand Prix champion and last year’s winner would not disappoint.
“I was here four years ago when he won,” she said. “It’s fun to be here. It sounds like a jet engine.”
In the end, Hamilton was unable to overtake Rosberg, who won with a comfortable 8.2-second gap and ahead of Finn Kimi Raikkonen, who took third place.
An annual event since 2009, the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix has steadily been increasing in popularity since its inception.
Organisers said the event this year was a sellout, with 60,000 spectators expected to have been at the circuit.
Travelling from London, F1 fans Anne and James Hassall took in the race while visiting the UAE for a holiday.
“It’s fantastic, it’s modern, it’s glamorous,” said Ms Hassall, describing the racetrack at Yas Island, which she said was the best they had seen.
Abu Dhabi residents Ali Al Thumari, 27, and Mohamed Ali, 30, said the annual event was a great boost to the capital.
“It’s good to see a lot of people here from all kinds of different countries,” said Mr Al Thumari, who has yet to miss an F1 race at Yas.
“This even is making Abu Dhabi famous,” Mr Ali said.
After the race, fans took in a performance by leading Britpop act Blur.
The concert brought the weekend’s packed entertainment schedule to a close after performances by UK band Florence and the Machine and Spanish pop star Enrique Iglesias.
esamoglou@thenational.ae
The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
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7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
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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
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.
Skewed figures
In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458.
2025 Fifa Club World Cup groups
Group A: Palmeiras, Porto, Al Ahly, Inter Miami.
Group B: Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid, Botafogo, Seattle.
Group C: Bayern Munich, Auckland City, Boca Juniors, Benfica.
Group D: Flamengo, ES Tunis, Chelsea, (Leon banned).
Group E: River Plate, Urawa, Monterrey, Inter Milan.
Group F: Fluminense, Borussia Dortmund, Ulsan, Mamelodi Sundowns.
Group G: Manchester City, Wydad, Al Ain, Juventus.
Group H: Real Madrid, Al Hilal, Pachuca, Salzburg.
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
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.”
Kanguva
Director: Siva
Stars: Suriya, Bobby Deol, Disha Patani, Yogi Babu, Redin Kingsley
A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
We Weren’t Supposed to Survive But We Did
We weren’t supposed to survive but we did.
We weren’t supposed to remember but we did.
We weren’t supposed to write but we did.
We weren’t supposed to fight but we did.
We weren’t supposed to organise but we did.
We weren’t supposed to rap but we did.
We weren’t supposed to find allies but we did.
We weren’t supposed to grow communities but we did.
We weren’t supposed to return but WE ARE.
Amira Sakalla
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
Specs
Engine: Dual-motor all-wheel-drive electric
Range: Up to 610km
Power: 905hp
Torque: 985Nm
Price: From Dh439,000
Available: Now
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MATCH INFO
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Atletico Madrid v Juventus, midnight (Thursday), BeIN Sports
Britain's travel restrictions
- A negative test 2 days before flying
- Complete passenger locator form
- Book a post-arrival PCR test
- Double-vaccinated must self-isolate
- 11 countries on red list quarantine
How Sputnik V works
Famous left-handers
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- David Bowie
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