In the basement of a suburban home on Long Island lives thousands of tapes of footage documenting the origins of hip hop, the dominant...

TL;DR: As of July 14, get the WLKATA Mirobot 6-Axis Mini Robot Arm Professional Kit

CHICAGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug 2, 2023--

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While Formula 1 may be struggling to invigorate the spectacle of racing amid another anticipated year of Red Bull dominance, one area it is not struggling in is the off-track coffers. With more races than ever before, and the bumper profits that go with it, an inevitable side-effect is wandering eyes from afar. The sport’s governing body, the FIA, has thus opened an “expressions of interest” process in January for new potential teams to join the current 10-team grid, perhaps as soon as 2025. Enter Calvin Lo: a Hong Kong-based billionaire. CEO of R.E. Lee International, the world’s largest life insurance broker, the 45-year-old has been “hooked” on the sport since glimpsing Michael Schumacher’s Ferrari on TV in the early 2000s. A trip to Shanghai for the first Chinese Grand Prix in 2004 underlined that adoration. But now, spectating from the paddock isn’t enough. “I’m having serious discussions about getting involved right now,” he tells The Independent, from an office in Singapore, with all the paperwork lying in front of him. “There’s actually quite a few proposals in front of me right now to see how I can participate. “F1 needs more teams. There’s too many talents in motorsport to not have more teams. But when I go through it, it is highly aspirational and absolutely, very ambitious. Still, I’d loved to be involved financially.” But not at the cost of his reputation. Financial prudence and sustainability are at the forefront of his thinking, with the extended FIA deadline for applications closing on Sunday. The entrance fee for any new team is $200m, shared by all the current teams. Mercedes boss Toto Wolff has previously remarked that $1bn is realistically required to fight at the front, a figure Lo agrees is “fair” given the basic costs of recruitment and car development. “I won’t get myself into that vicious cycle where I can’t hit those financial markers,” he says, adamantly. “Putting money into the team is not the difficult part. It’s making sure it’s sustainable; otherwise it’s embarrassing for everyone. It’s very intricate, even with an established group of people, with all the sponsorship and the detail. “But there’s so much potential in this part of the world – it’d be so advantageous to the Asian community and to the F1 ecosystem.” Audi have already confirmed their entry in 2026, taking over from Alfa Romeo (Sauber), while American giant Ford has partnered with Red Bull for the world champions’ new powertrains division. While Lo was tight-lipped about naming potential partnerships, he did emphasise his eagerness to join forces with a new team via the current FIA process. Confirmed bids from Andretti Cadillac, as well as a mooted submission from junior formula outfit Hitech GP, were ruled out. An association with Panthera Team Asia, therefore, seems most probable at this point. Lo also has a financial link with Williams’ F1 team, who were bought by private investment firm Dorilton Capital nearly three years ago, but non-disclosure agreements preclude him from elaborating further. He was insistent, however, that any new team would not present a conflict of interest. Instead, his new venture, likely based out of Asia, would be his primary focus. The continent is a “huge untapped market” for the sport, in Lo’s view, amid the Americanisation of the sport witnessed at the weekend in Miami. An academy for drivers and academics alike is also a target. “To truly make F1 global, we cannot forget this part of the world,” he says. “There are races, but the penetration is not high and it’s wasted. “I would love to have an Asian team with a base in the Pearl River Delta [the wealthiest region in south China]. The initial few seasons would be tough but it’s important for the sport to have more exposure and commitment here. “It’d be great to have an academy here. Recruiting talents not just for F1, but aeronautics and legal avenues. For young people to be exposed to this kind of world, it could change someone’s life. “With [F1’s new regulations in] 2026 and the net-zero target of 2030, now is the perfect time to be involved behind the scenes.” Working in the shadows is just how Lo operates. Widely publicised as the “secretive” or “under-the-radar” billionaire – who has a net worth of $1.7bn (£1.3bn) according to Forbes – he covets privacy, despite a lucrative lifestyle which includes owning a suite of supercars and a collection of tip-top champagne, with a single batch costing $230m. “If I go into F1, you won’t see me,” he reveals. “It’s not my style. It’s also partly to do with my main business and working with clients. “In my view, the wealthier you are… you don’t go out and flaunt it. Well some do, most don’t!” McLaren CEO Zak Brown believes there will be at least four prospective teams interested in joining the sport, while F1’s regulations cater for only two more spots. Lo has been included in an initial application to play a financial role – even if he won’t be the face of said new team – and the FIA intends on making a decision about which teams will be granted a shot at the big time by the end of June. “By 2026, it will be a different world we live in and it’d be pretty amazing to be part of that change,” he concludes. “It’s now about looking at all the plans and making a decision truly from a financial point of view. “The skeleton is already there. It’s now just getting everyone to commit themselves.” Read More FIA formally opens applications for new teams to join F1 grid Andretti joins forces with General Motors to target Formula 1 entry FIA boss ‘surprised’ at ‘adverse reaction’ to Andretti’s F1 bid with Cadillac Aussie billionaire David Dicker enters race for new team to join F1 grid Ford to rejoin Formula 1 as engine partner for Red Bull from 2026

A man has come under fire for asking his girlfriend to shave her armpit for a family event. In a post to Reddit's "Am I the A**hole?" forum, the guy explained the situation that led to the disagreement between the couple. "She shaves everything else, although she'll happily go kind of long between shaves, but her armpits she probably shaves once every two or three months for a special occasion if she really feels like it," he said. "I don't have an issue with this most of the time, although I'm not really used to this and would probably prefer she shaves, she's really clean and never smells bad or anything." He then went on to describe how his request for her to shave her armpits didn't go down well. "She got really offended and said that was really harsh of me and now she doesn’t even want to come. I don't think I'm being unreasonable asking her to shave," he said. Since sharing the post, the comment section was inundated with people sharing their opinions on the matter. Many believed the guy was in the wrong for making this request to his girlfriend. One person said: "YTA (you're the a**hole). She likes it, as she told you... and what's important is what SHE THINKS about her body (and body hair). Did she ask your opinion on if she should shave? No? Then she doesn't want it, so keep it to yourself." "Do you have hairy armpits? Why does she have to shave hers? Because she's a woman and you're a man? If you're allowed to have hairy armpits, so is she," another person wrote. Someone else added: "Humans have body hair naturally. That's the baseline for "NORMAL". It's NORMAL for her to have hairy armpits, and she can make a choice to remove it. "If your family find normal body hair offensive or weird, that's their problem, and you should feel free to tell them that." "YTA. She is entitled to bodily autonomy, and should not feel coerced into hair removal," a fourth person commented. "Your request was offensive because you basically told her you are ashamed of her for not conforming to an artificial standard of beauty." Though there were a few people fighting in the guy's corner. "NAH - no harm in asking; just let it go if she declines. If you find it unattractive, let her know, then let her go. Or not," one person wrote. Another person added: "NAH. You asked and she said no. You say she does shave for "special occasions," so she apparently doesn't mind shaving them sometimes, so I think it's a reasonable ask on your part. And you said she shaves "everything else." So doesn't mind shaving in general." Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

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