It was appropriate that as Lewis Hamilton got into his race overalls on Sunday in preparation for the Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, it was Niki Lauda who helped him.
The Austrian, the non-executive chairman of Mercedes-GP, held several conversations with Hamilton in September 2012 as he tried to persuade the Briton to leave McLaren-Mercedes, the only F1 team he had raced for, and take a risk by joining the German marque, who at that stage had won only once since their return to the sport in 2010.
Lauda, the three-time world champion, proved persuasive as Hamilton abandoned a proven winning team, with whom he had won the 2008 drivers’ title, and signed a three-year deal with Mercedes.
After clinching his second world title in victorious fashion by winning in Abu Dhabi on Sunday, Hamilton said that the move had been questioned heavily at the time and “a lot of people said it was the wrong choice”.
It has proven to be not only the right choice, but an inspired one, as Hamilton has achieved the second world title he had so desperately cherished.
Last season mustered only one win for him, but Hamilton’s move was always with an eye to 2014.
Mercedes power units have consistently been the most powerful on the grid in the modern era of F1 and the move to 1.6-litre V6 turbos this year was always going to make the marque a contender, as long as the car was at least reasonably competitive aerodynamically.
The W105 chassis has more than surpassed expectations and Hamilton, for the first time since 2008, had consistently the fastest car on the grid at his disposal.
Getting himself into the best car was one thing, making full use of it is another, but Hamilton did it.
Eleven victories in 19 races sums up the best season, results wise, of his career.
Nico Rosberg has proven a worthy opponent in the same machinery and a minor consolation for the German is becoming the first teammate of Hamilton’s in F1 to outperform him in qualifying over a season with 12 pole positions to the Briton’s seven.
Rosberg was quick, but Hamilton always appeared to have an answer when he needed one.
Beating Rosberg when the German was quicker in Bahrain and Spain, holding him on the final lap in Hungary on old tyres, passing him in the wet in Japan were all key moments during the past eight months of racing across the globe.
Sunday provided another example of Hamilton stepping up when he needed to.
Rosberg was on pole and had the ability to make Hamilton’s life difficult in the race by controlling his pace and being tactical to keep him in sight of other cars.
But Hamilton removed that prospect with a storming start to take the lead and controlled the race from there on.
It was disappointing Rosberg’s race was hurt by mechanical problems, but Hamilton had already proven he again had his teammate covered as he held the track advantage over him.
Hamilton did what he needed to when he had to and that is what makes a champion.
The Briton has had to endure the Sebastian Vettel-Red Bull Racing era of dominance, but now he is in a position to create his own period of success.
He will start as a strong favourite next March when the new season begins in Australia to become a triple world champion. With the engine regulations almost certain to remain the same for 2015, there is no reason why Mercedes should not continue to be the pacesetters, given they have consistently had a speed advantage of at least half-a-second a lap over their rivals this year.
If that is the case, then we are looking at Hamilton v Rosberg II, and Hamilton will fancy that scenario greatly, having proven this year he can out-race his teammate.
His qualifying form could do with improving, but as Hamilton wakes up on Monday in Abu Dhabi and reflects on what he has achieved, he will know this has the potential to be the start of continued success.
gcaygill@thenational.ae
Follow our sports coverage on Twitter @SprtNationalUAE
Sri Lanka-India Test series schedule
- 1st Test India won by 304 runs at Galle
- 2nd Test Thursday-Monday at Colombo
- 3rd Test August 12-16 at Pallekele
Director: Laxman Utekar
Cast: Vicky Kaushal, Akshaye Khanna, Diana Penty, Vineet Kumar Singh, Rashmika Mandanna
Rating: 1/5
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League semi-final, first leg
Barcelona v Liverpool, Wednesday, 11pm (UAE).
Second leg
Liverpool v Barcelona, Tuesday, May 7, 11pm
Games on BeIN Sports
Tightening the screw on rogue recruiters
The UAE overhauled the procedure to recruit housemaids and domestic workers with a law in 2017 to protect low-income labour from being exploited.
Only recruitment companies authorised by the government are permitted as part of Tadbeer, a network of labour ministry-regulated centres.
A contract must be drawn up for domestic workers, the wages and job offer clearly stating the nature of work.
The contract stating the wages, work entailed and accommodation must be sent to the employee in their home country before they depart for the UAE.
The contract will be signed by the employer and employee when the domestic worker arrives in the UAE.
Only recruitment agencies registered with the ministry can undertake recruitment and employment applications for domestic workers.
Penalties for illegal recruitment in the UAE include fines of up to Dh100,000 and imprisonment
But agents not authorised by the government sidestep the law by illegally getting women into the country on visit visas.
Vidaamuyarchi
Director: Magizh Thirumeni
Stars: Ajith Kumar, Arjun Sarja, Trisha Krishnan, Regina Cassandra
Rating: 4/5
How to protect yourself when air quality drops
Install an air filter in your home.
Close your windows and turn on the AC.
Shower or bath after being outside.
Wear a face mask.
Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.
If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.
Ukraine
Capital: Kiev
Population: 44.13 million
Armed conflict in Donbass
Russia-backed fighters control territory
The specs
Engine: 3-litre twin-turbo V6
Power: 400hp
Torque: 475Nm
Transmission: 9-speed automatic
Price: From Dh215,900
On sale: Now
Joker: Folie a Deux
Starring: Joaquin Phoenix, Lady Gaga, Brendan Gleeson
Director: Todd Phillips
Rating: 2/5
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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.”
