DAVOS, Switzerland: Qatar’s preparations for the 2022 football World Cup are fully on track after a boycott by its Gulf neighbors briefly disrupted fixed supply lines last year, its foreign minister said.
Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani, who is also deputy prime minister, said Qatar’s economy was now growing much faster than anticipated and the huge gas exporter was well prepared to withstand the crisis in relations with its neighbors.
“We are confident we will host the best World Cup in the Arab world. It will represent the whole Arab region,” Sheikh Mohammed said in an interview during the World Economic Forum in Davos.
“The government has already overcome the disruptions which happened to supplies at the beginning of the crisis and we have introduced alternative routes. There is no disruption at the moment,” he said, adding he had heard no signals from FIFA that it was planning to change the venue of the World Cup.
The diplomatic crisis, in which Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the UAE and Egypt have boycotted Qatar, erupted last summer when the four countries cut diplomatic, transport and trade ties with Qatar, accusing it of financing terrorism.
Qatar’s economy has been growing faster than expected despite the boycott and Sheikh Mohammed said Qatar’s sovereign wealth fund, one of the world’s largest, was expanding investments abroad despite expectations it would shrink and divest.
“We have built strong resilience, we are opening up new trade lines, we have built a new port,” he said. “Our investment fund is seeking new investment opportunities... and tapping new continents. We have plans for Africa, which we will launch soon, and next year we have plans for the Central Asian region.”
Qatar says 2022 FIFA World Cup on track as supply lines fixed
Qatar says 2022 FIFA World Cup on track as supply lines fixed
Lando Norris says F1 cars gone from best to ‘probably the worst’
- Norris’ title defense comes amid sweeping changes to the cars
- The 26-year-old British driver has endured a tough weekend at Albert Park so far
MELBOURNE: Formula 1 champion Lando Norris is struggling with his new era McLaren car and frustrated to line up only sixth in Sunday’s season-opening Australian Grand Prix.
Norris’ title defense comes amid sweeping changes to the cars, and the 26-year-old British driver has endured a tough weekend at Albert Park so far.
F1’s new cars are complex, with unprecedented changes across the chassis and power unit, which now feature an almost 50:50 output split between the turbo 1.6-liter V6 engine and electrical energy harvested from the brakes — one that requires a new, often counterintuitive driving style.
“We’ve come from the best cars ever made in Formula 1, and the nicest to drive, to probably the worst,” he said after Saturday’s qualifying.
He’s not just coming to grips with his car’s complex energy management systems, but also in getting out on track — with the Briton losing significant time in Friday’s two practice sessions.
“Just getting into the rhythm of lifting everywhere to go quicker and using gears you don’t want to use and just understanding that when you lift more, you brake later but you have to brake less,” Norris said.
“That’s why laps are more valuable than ever. In the past, miss P1, not too bothered. Now, you miss five laps, not only do you as a driver have to figure things out quicker, the engine doesn’t learn what it needs to learn and then you’re just on the back foot.”
