México City 11^th October 2018.

 Mexican mythical creatures will take over the opening ceremony of the FORMULA 1 GRAN PREMIO DE MÉXICO 2018™

• The organisers of the race continue to support Mexican handicrafts and culture: the stars of the pre-race grid extravaganza will be the tree of life from the official poster and a series of original alebrijes.

• National craftsmen created colourful alebrijes based on the favourite animals of the 20 F1^®

Just like the tree of life on the official race poster, Mexican crafts will again have a leading role during the FORMULA 1 GRAN PREMIO DE MÉXICO 2018™: Mexican mythical creatures called alebrijes will be the main theme of the race’s Opening Ceremony. The F1^®ESTA will once again provide a window to promote the country’s rich cultural heritage to the attendees at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez, the Formula 1^® community, and the millions of viewers around the world.

Alebrijes are brightly coloured, mythical, often monstrous creatures. They are hybrid beasts composed of the parts of more than one animal – both real and fantastic. Mythological beasts have appeared in Mexican culture throughout its pre-colonial civilizations – for example ancient deities such as Mexica god Quetzalcóatl (the feathered-serpent). Painted with bright and vibrant colours, alebrijes are crafts that can be made of wood or paper and can be large or small. More than an artefact, everything about these creatures is fantastic.

The organisers of the FORMULA 1 GRAN PREMIO DE MÉXICO 2018™ commissioned the creation of a number of personalised alebrijes for each of the F1^® drivers in partnership with the Museum of Popular Art. The design and production of these unique compositions was carried out by 20 collectives and workshops from the Mexican Assembly of Alebrijeros and had the support and feedback of the F1^® teams themselves.

“We feel very fortunate to promote the cultural richness of Mexico on a global platform. Through the ceremony itself and these fantastic creatures, people of different nationalities can learn more about our culture, while enjoying a great sporting event,” said Federico González Compeán, Managing Director of FORMULA 1 GRAN PREMIO DE MÉXICO 2018™.

Made of cardboard, 1.5-metre-high alebrijes will accompany each driver prior to the traditional driver’s parade which will take place with classic cars from the National Vintage Commission. Small-scale replicas of the alebrijes will be presented to each of the drivers during their visit to the country.

In order to create these vibrant and surreal pieces, the craftsmen were inspired by the favourite animals of each driver, as well as the official animal of their countries, cities or provinces. Colours are a key part of the traditional alebrijes, which is why elements of the flags from each driver’s countries were incorporated, as well as their team colours, cars and helmets. Mexico will also feature significantly in these figures the green, white and red of the national flag have also been incorporated.

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About FORMULA 1 GRAN PREMIO DE MÉXICO™:

The top category of motorsport has returned to Mexico, after twenty-three years of absence, a pioneer of major sporting events in our country. With hosting rights from 2015 to 2019, the renewed Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez is the scene of the return of F1ESTA to the country, with a track of the highest world standard.

In its most recent three editions (2015, 2016 and 2017), over 1 million people have witnessed the race, which – according to analysis by Formula Money – has made the Mexican GP the second with more spectators worldwide (after Great Britain).

To date, the 2015, 2016 & 2017 editions of the FORMULA 1 GRAN PREMIO DE MÉXICO™ have generated over 30 thousand jobs in the region and have achieved an economic impact of $2.2 billion USD ($39.6 billion MXN).

Mexico will once again achieve global recognition through the race, which will take place from October 26 to 28 – after the third successive year of being voted “Best Promoter of the Year” in the category by FIA and FOM, the highest authorities of professional motorsports worldwide.

For more information on the FORMULA 1 GRAN PREMIO DE MÉXICO™ visit: https://www.mexicogp.mx/

About Formula 1^®

Formula 1^® racing began in 1950 and is the world’s most prestigious motor racing competition, as well as the world’s most popular annual sporting series. In 2016 it was watched by 400 million unique television viewers from over 200 territories. The 2017 FIA Formula One World Championship™ runs from March to November and spans 20 races in 20 countries across five continents. Formula One World Championship Limited is part of Formula 1, and holds the exclusive commercial rights to the FIA Formula One World Championship™.

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