Qualifying for the United States Grand Prix was finally postponed after three hours of rain-hit delays on Saturday and re-scheduled for 6pm (UAE time) on Sunday.
The race organisers confirmed the postponement after a day of frustration in severe wet, windy and miserable conditions for spectators at the Circuit of the Americas.
Originally barred from entry to the circuit until 12 noon local time, they missed witnessing the rain-hit action when the final free practice session for the race was run behind closed doors during the morning.
And they were left with nothing to cheer in the afternoon as incessant rain left the circuit flooded and drains unable to deal with the deluge.
The qualifying session is now scheduled to take place just five hours ahead of Sunday’s race (11pm UAE) in which defending two-time world champion Lewis Hamilton of Mercedes-GP hopes to win and wrap up his third title.
It is the fourth time an F1 qualifying session has been switched to a Sunday.
It also happened at the 2004 and 2010 Japanese Grands Prix and the 2013 Australian Grand Prix.
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Hamilton was fastest in the earlier practice session ahead of nearest title rival, four-time champion Sebastian Vettel of Ferrari.
Despite the dreadful conditions on a very wet track, Hamilton had shown just why he is regarded as the best driver of his generation by clocking a fastest lap in one minute and 59.517 seconds.
The 30-year-old Briton’s lap was the only one to break the two-minute barrier as he, and most of his rivals, slithered, splashed and spun through steady rain and standing water in a session nobody had expected to see.
Hamilton can win his third title in Sunday’s race if he outscores Vettel by nine points and Mercedes teammate Nico Rosberg by three.
Both Hamilton and Rosberg were among the men caught out in the conditions, but there was no arguing with Hamilton’s ability as he outpaced Vettel by 0.863 seconds.
“It’s real shame for all these people here in the rain, but you just can’t mess with Mother Nature,” Hamilton said.
“It was great out there in the car, and I loved it. I always loved driving in the rain — I grew up doing that in the UK, driving in the rain all the time.”
Nico Hulkenberg was third fastest for Force India ahead of Valtteri Bottas of Williams, Carlos Sainz of Toro Rosso and Daniil Kvyat of Red Bull.
Kimi Raikkonen was seventh in the second Ferrari ahead of Daniel Ricciardo in the second Red Bull, Rosberg and Felipe Massa in the second Williams.
The luckless Rosberg had one major spin in which he hit the barriers and damaged the front wing of his Mercedes car.
It was a surprise to many that the practice session took place behind closed doors.
Mercedes technical boss Paddy Lowe said that the session had been run because “there is a chance that the times could be used for grid positions” if it is not possible to do any more practice or to hold a qualifying session.
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The specs
Engine: 1.5-litre 4-cylinder petrol
Power: 154bhp
Torque: 250Nm
Transmission: 7-speed automatic with 8-speed sports option
Price: From Dh79,600
On sale: Now
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THE SPECS
Engine: 1.5-litre
Transmission: 6-speed automatic
Power: 110 horsepower
Torque: 147Nm
Price: From Dh59,700
On sale: now
Abramovich London
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BORDERLANDS
Starring: Cate Blanchett, Kevin Hart, Jamie Lee Curtis
Director: Eli Roth
Rating: 0/5
The%C2%A0specs%20
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Three ways to limit your social media use
Clinical psychologist, Dr Saliha Afridi at The Lighthouse Arabia suggests three easy things you can do every day to cut back on the time you spend online.
1. Put the social media app in a folder on the second or third screen of your phone so it has to remain a conscious decision to open, rather than something your fingers gravitate towards without consideration.
2. Schedule a time to use social media instead of consistently throughout the day. I recommend setting aside certain times of the day or week when you upload pictures or share information.
3. Take a mental snapshot rather than a photo on your phone. Instead of sharing it with your social world, try to absorb the moment, connect with your feeling, experience the moment with all five of your senses. You will have a memory of that moment more vividly and for far longer than if you take a picture of it.
Details
Through Her Lens: The stories behind the photography of Eva Sereny
Forewords by Jacqueline Bisset and Charlotte Rampling, ACC Art Books
In-demand jobs and monthly salaries
- Technology expert in robotics and automation: Dh20,000 to Dh40,000
- Energy engineer: Dh25,000 to Dh30,000
- Production engineer: Dh30,000 to Dh40,000
- Data-driven supply chain management professional: Dh30,000 to Dh50,000
- HR leader: Dh40,000 to Dh60,000
- Engineering leader: Dh30,000 to Dh55,000
- Project manager: Dh55,000 to Dh65,000
- Senior reservoir engineer: Dh40,000 to Dh55,000
- Senior drilling engineer: Dh38,000 to Dh46,000
- Senior process engineer: Dh28,000 to Dh38,000
- Senior maintenance engineer: Dh22,000 to Dh34,000
- Field engineer: Dh6,500 to Dh7,500
- Field supervisor: Dh9,000 to Dh12,000
- Field operator: Dh5,000 to Dh7,000
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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.”
Director: Jon Favreau
Starring: Donald Glover, Seth Rogen, John Oliver
Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
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The specs
Engine: 2.7-litre 4-cylinder Turbomax
Power: 310hp
Torque: 583Nm
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
Price: From Dh192,500
On sale: Now
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The%20specs
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Company Profile
Name: Thndr
Started: 2019
Co-founders: Ahmad Hammouda and Seif Amr
Sector: FinTech
Headquarters: Egypt
UAE base: Hub71, Abu Dhabi
Current number of staff: More than 150
Funds raised: $22 million