Mexico City 27 October, 2016

FORMULA 1 GRAN PREMIO DE MÉXICO 2016

‘THIS YEAR’S EVENT WILL BE EVEN BETTER THAN LAST YEAR’

Mexican favourite Sergio Pérez is convinced this year’s Mexican Grand Prix can leave an even more stunning impression than the 2015 edition. “I have no doubt this year’s event will be even better than last year,’ says Checo, who finished eighth in his home race last season. ‘Expectations are huge following the success of 2015,’ says the 26-year-old. ‘For me, the biggest surprise was the passion of the fans: all the affection I received, all the messages and all the incredible moments I experienced are what really made an impression on me. I am so happy to go back there.’ So is his compatriot Estéban Gutiérrez, who will race here for the first time with new F1 team Haas. “Last year was great. The atmosphere was amazing. I enjoyed it so much,’ says Gutiérrez. ‘Obviously, I would have liked to have been racing, but that was my position and the reality is that I wanted to enjoy in that perspective. But now it will be even better when I will be racing there. “It’s probably one of the best two weeks of my career because it represents so much to racing, to motorsports in Mexico in general, and to me. It’s a kind of connection where I can share my passion for racing and what I do with all Mexicans. I feel grateful for their support.” But the local drivers are not alone in their enthusiasm for their journey south of the border. Not surprisingly, championship leader and 2015 Mexico winner Nico Rosberg can’t wait to taste all the flavours of the Autódromo Hermanos Rodriguez once more. ‘Standing on that podium last year was one of the best moments of my career,’ says the Mercedes driver, who arrives with a 26-point advantage over his teammate Lewis Hamilton, ‘so I hope I can get back up there and experience it again.’ Hamilton arrives fresh from his 50^th career victory in the USA: he too has his own special memories of Mexico 2015. ‘It has to be one of the best crowds I’ve ever seen,’ says the Englishman. ‘There are so many people with so much energy and excitement for the sport in Mexico. “I saw a few Mexican flags with my name on them in Austin, which was awesome, so hopefully those guys will be there to give me that extra lift this weekend too.’ With three races to go, Rosberg finds himself in a dilemma: should he continue his 2016 policy of focussing on each race as it comes, or should he play the long game to protect his lead? ‘My approach is to keep it simple’, is his answer. ‘There are many things that can happen during a race weekend which are out of your control, so it’s best to just block all that out and focus on the job at hand. That’s what’s worked best for me and how I feel at my strongest.’ Last word to Sergio Pérez – and it’s all about the Autódromo Hermanos Rodriguez. ‘The track itself is brilliant: my two favourite parts are the fast esses and the Foro Sol,’ says Checo. ‘There is no key place where you can make or break your lap, except perhaps the slow section inside the stadium: you have to nail the combinations of corners to be able to string together a good lap.’

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      About CIE Corporacion Interamericana de Entretenimiento, S.A.B de C. V. www.cie.com.mx We are the market leader in outdoor entertainment in Mexico, Colombia and Central America and one of the major players in the entertainment industry in Latin America and across the globe. CIE offers a variety of world-class entertainment options including concerts, theater productions, and sports and family and cultural events, among others, to meet our market segments’ needs for recreation and entertainment through its unique vertical integration model that provides the only access available to an extensive network of entertainment centers, advertisers including the principal advertising investors in our markets, and partnerships and strategic alliances with experienced global partners. We operate an amusement and water park in Bogota, Colombia, and manage Centro Banamex in Mexico City, one of the largest convention and exhibition facilities across the globe. We are recognized as the foremost producer and organizer of special and corporate events in Mexico, and we operate one of the most professional contact centers in the Mexican market. CIE is a public company whose shares and debt securities are listed on the Mexican Stock Exchange.