SUZUKA, JAPAN // Sebastian Vettel led Mark Webber, the championship leader, in a dominant Red Bull-Renault one-two in both of today's practice sessions.
While they flaunted an advantage of more than half a second over their title rivals, McLaren-Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton could only watch impotently from the sidelines after crashing in the morning.
When the 2008 Formula One champion did get back on track with eight minutes of the second session remaining, the Briton was able to complete just six laps with the 13th fastest time of the afternoon. The 25-year-old - determined to throw caution aside after three retirements in four races dropped him to third place in the title race and 20 points behind Webber - had completed nine laps before running wide at the Degner double right-hander and hitting the tyre wall. The car came to a halt with the front left wheel hanging limply.
With heavy rain forecast for today, the McLaren title contender knew he had blown his chance of really getting a feel for the new parts his team had brought to the race in an all-out push to catch up with Red Bull. "I was probably pushing too hard, too early. I don't know," he said of his third crash in three races. "They say bad things come in threes so hopefully that's the case, it's over and done with."
The Red Bull drivers, teammates and fierce rivals, had no such problems, with their cars powering around the figure-of-eight circuit. Vettel, last year's winner at the Honda-owned circuit and fourth in the title battle, set a best time of 1min 32.585secs on a dry track in the morning and then, with the sun high in the sky, bettered it after lunch with a 1 min 31.465secs. "The car was reliable and I had a good feeling," he said. "The forecast suggests rain but there's no reason why we shouldn't be competitive in the wet."
Webber, who is 11 points clear of Ferrari's Fernando Alonso with four races left, was 0.048secs and 0.395secs slower. "We couldn't have asked for much more," he said. "We had faultless running and got a lot of mileage. The team put the cars together well and we had a smooth day." Renault's Robert Kubica was the best of the rest in both sessions, 0.544secs slower in the first and an even more demoralising 0.735secs off the pace in the second.
McLaren, who have vowed to throw everything "including the kitchen sink" at their car in the remaining races, had Jenson Button, the world champion, sixth fastest in the afternoon. Despite his accident, Hamilton was fifth quickest in first practice. Button also went wide at Degner in that session but avoided Hamilton's fate. Alonso, the double world champion who has won the last two races, ended the day fourth fastest with Felipe Massa, his Brazilian teammate, fifth.
"It's only Friday, so the times today do not really mean much," said the Spaniard. "In theory, Red Bull look unbeatable here...[but] there were various races where, come Sunday, they were beaten." Michael Schumacher, the seven-time world champion, who is struggling in his comeback season, was a morale-boosting eighth at one of his favourite circuits. Mercedes ridiculed reports yesterday that Schumacher had been told to raise his game or have his contract terminated a year early.
Norbert Haug, the Mercedes motorsport vice-president, said the sport's most successful driver may be driving better than ever despite his 41 years and being out-paced by young teammate Nico Rosberg. German tabloid newspaper Bild had raised the spectre of an ultimatum in an unsourced report but Haug dismissed it at a news conference. "Of course there was no ultimatum," he said. "I think Michael again showed today his class, his full commitment.
"We are currently a little bit handicapped with our car but I have no complaints and no regrets that we're going to achieve our target."
Tree of Hell
Starring: Raed Zeno, Hadi Awada, Dr Mohammad Abdalla
Director: Raed Zeno
Rating: 4/5
COMPANY PROFILE
● Company: Bidzi
● Started: 2024
● Founders: Akshay Dosaj and Asif Rashid
● Based: Dubai, UAE
● Industry: M&A
● Funding size: Bootstrapped
● No of employees: Nine
The specs
Engine: 2-litre 4-cylinder and 3.6-litre 6-cylinder
Power: 220 and 280 horsepower
Torque: 350 and 360Nm
Transmission: eight-speed automatic
Price: from Dh136,521 VAT and Dh166,464 VAT
On sale: now
The specs
Engine: 1.5-litre turbo
Power: 181hp
Torque: 230Nm
Transmission: 6-speed automatic
Starting price: Dh79,000
On sale: Now
Company%20Profile
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Thank You for Banking with Us
Director: Laila Abbas
Starring: Yasmine Al Massri, Clara Khoury, Kamel El Basha, Ashraf Barhoum
Rating: 4/5
COMPANY PROFILE
Company name: Blah
Started: 2018
Founder: Aliyah Al Abbar and Hend Al Marri
Based: Dubai
Industry: Technology and talent management
Initial investment: Dh20,000
Investors: Self-funded
Total customers: 40
Company%20Profile
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COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Almnssa
Started: August 2020
Founder: Areej Selmi
Based: Gaza
Sectors: Internet, e-commerce
Investments: Grants/private funding
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
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Dengue%20fever%20symptoms
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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.
FIXTURES
All kick-off times UAE ( 4 GMT)
Brackets denote aggregate score
Tuesday:
Roma (1) v Shakhtar Donetsk (2), 11.45pm
Manchester United (0) v Sevilla (0), 11.45pm
Wednesday:
Besiktas (0) v Bayern Munich (5), 9pm
Barcelona (1) v Chelsea (1), 11.45pm
Call of Duty: Black Ops 6
Developer: Treyarch, Raven Software
Publisher: Activision
Console: PlayStation 4 & 5, Windows, Xbox One & Series X/S
Rating: 3.5/5
Company%20profile
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A%20QUIET%20PLACE
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