ORIGINAL ARTWORK OF McLAREN RACING ABU DHABI GP LIVERY TO BE MADE AVAILABLE AS A NON-FUNGIBLE TOKEN (NFT) WITH PROCEEDS GOING TO CHARITY

THE NFT IS A DIGITAL ORIGINAL OF THE ARTWORK CREATED BY RABAB TANTAWY, AN EMERGING MIDDLE EAST-BASED ARTIST

LONDON, Dec. 20, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Due to high demand from fans in both the art and racing worlds, the original artwork that inspired McLaren Racing's 2021 livery for the final race in Abu Dhabi is being auctioned in digital form with proceeds going to charity.

Launching on December 20th, the non-fungible token (NFT), "Together As One" by Rabab Tantawy, is a digital original of the artwork by artist Rabab who was given creative control of the livery by McLaren Racing and its long-standing partner, BAT's global vapour brand Vuse. She made history by becoming the first female artist from the Middle East to ever have their artwork appear on a livery during a Grand Prix™.

The exclusive piece by Rabab formed the beginning of Vuse's Driven by Change initiative, which provides opportunities for underrepresented creatives to champion their work and passions across various platforms. Creators from around the world will be offered opportunities like the one Rabab had in Abu Dhabi from which they can help drive change within the world of motorsport.

Rabab's "Together As One" design celebrates her passion for union, community, and heritage, incorporating her Nubian Series*** with McLaren Racing's iconic papaya and blue colourway. The Nubian figures represent togetherness and 'the world as one' – two themes Rabab is passionate about exploring in her work both on and off the canvas, which inspired and informed the artwork for the livery.

Rabab Tantawy comments: "The response to the livery has been overwhelming. I've been receiving messages from art collectors and racing fans from all over the world asking to buy an NFT of the artwork and I'm so excited to be creating my very first one! This exclusive piece will be auctioned to raise funds for a charity that is close to my heart, Driven By Diversity. It's an incredible organisation that gives access and opportunities to under-represented groups in the motorsport industry, so it will directly benefit people looking for the opportunity to showcase their passion, just like I did in Abu Dhabi!"

One NFT will be auctioned for 96 hours via the Objkt platform, with funds collected from the initial sale of the NFT (excluding any transaction fees or commissions retained by third party platforms) to be directed to Driven By Diversity, a not-for-profit organisation which aims to educate individuals and organisations on the value of diversity and inclusion in motorsports. In addition, royalty payments arising in accordance with the terms of the NFT (again excluding any transaction fees or commissions retained by third party platforms) will also be donated to Driven By Diversity.

Lindsay Orridge, Founder and President, Driven by Diversity, said: "Having been heavily involved in this project from concept right through to execution, I am beyond thrilled that Rabab has chosen to donate to our cause in this exciting, future-focused way. Once the artwork has been sold at the NFT auction, we will release details of how the funds will be spent to help creatives looking to break into the motorsport world."

"Together As One" by Rabab Tantawy was born from Vuse's Driven by Change initiative, which celebrates undiscovered creative talent, working with McLaren Racing to identify opportunities to bring their work to life, helping introduce creatives from diverse backgrounds to the masses.

The NFT will be available here on 20^th December, from Midday GMT. To discover more about Rabab's story and about McLaren Racing's Abu Dhabi GP 2021 livery design visit social channels for Vuse Global and Rabab's social channels.

Further information on the Driven by Change initiative and how creatives can get involved will be shared in 2022.

Notes to Editors:

About BAT
BAT is a leading, multi-category consumer goods business with a purpose to build A Better Tomorrow by reducing the health impact of its business through offering a greater choice of enjoyable and less risky products for adult consumers. The company continues to be clear that combustible cigarettes pose serious health risks, and the only way to avoid these risks is not to start or to quit. BAT encourages those who would otherwise continue to smoke to switch completely to scientifically-substantiated, reduced-risk alternatives*. In order to deliver this, BAT is transforming into a truly consumer-centric multi-category consumer products business. BAT employs over 53,000 people and operates in over 180 countries, with 11 million points of sale and 45 factories in 43 markets. The company's Strategic Portfolio is made up of its global cigarette brands and a growing range of reduced-risk* New Category tobacco and nicotine products and traditional non-combustible tobacco products. These include vapour, tobacco heating products, modern oral products including tobacco-free nicotine pouches, as well as traditional oral products such as snus and moist snuff. In 2020, we had 13.5 million consumers of our non-combustible products, a rise of 3 million on the year before. The BAT Group generated revenue of £25.8 billion in 2020 and profit from operations of £9.9 billion.
*Based on the weight of evidence and assuming a complete switch from cigarette smoking. These products are not risk free and are addictive.

About McLaren Racing
McLaren Racing was founded by New Zealand racing driver Bruce McLaren in 1963. The team entered its first Formula 1 race in 1966, since then McLaren has won 20 Formula 1 world championships, more than 180 Formula 1 grands prix, the Le Mans 24 Hours at its first attempt and the Indianapolis 500 three times. McLaren Racing currently competes in Formula 1 globally and INDYCAR in the US. Z

The team is contesting the 2021 FIA Formula 1 World Championship with Lando Norris and Daniel Ricciardo, and in the 2021 INDYCAR Series with Arrow McLaren SP drivers Pato O'Ward and Felix Rosenqvist. McLaren was the first F1 team to be certified carbon neutral ten years ago and has successfully retained the Carbon Trust Standard Award, most recently in February 2021. They were also the first team to be awarded the FIA Institute's Environmental Award in 2013, which they have consistently maintained at three-star level.z

In 2022, McLaren Racing will enter a new category of motorsport when it enters a team into Extreme E, the innovative all-electric off-road racing series that highlights the impact of climate change.

About Rabab Tantawy

*** In this series Rabab Tantawy explores the need of human nature to connect with heritage and community by taking as a matter of study the Nubian culture.

Born in 1971 in Cairo Rabab Tantawy grew up watching her mother draw and create. Although she did not pursue an artistic career from the get-go, Rabab always kept an interest in the arts and taught herself different techniques, ranging from very traditional mediums like oil painting to modern ones like spray-paints.

When Tantawy decided to dedicate herself to the arts she got involved in several exhibitions while also actively pursuing street art.

Working with a multitude of mediums the artist created a playful approach to the otherwise serious concepts that ground her work. Her biggest focus is on union, community, and heritage.

While often we can see artists approach these subjects from a political point of view, Rabab tries to bridge the gap and render these subjects through the lens of universality.

Rabab is an intuitive artist. She doesn't work with preliminary sketches; she uses the canvas as a support for direct download. There's no expectation for a final product. In a way the product is the process of creation itself.

Line and colour are the pillars of Tantawy's work. Be it abstract or figurative the artist's work starts from line. The lines function as a skeleton, informing the whole process of the artwork in the making. Be it soft flowing lines or strong angular ones, this step sets the rhythm of the work. While a lot of artists are choosing to work with limited colour palettes, Tantawy switches from classical earthy colours to strong neon colours in the same series with the same ease she switches between mediums.

About Driven by Diversity

Driven by Diversity is a non-profit organisation founded by a group of motorsport industry professionals whose mission is to help educate, assist and give access to under-represented individuals wishing to work, participate or engage with motorsport. They work with industry bodies, teams, brands, drivers and stakeholders across the motorsport industry to help increase diverse driver talent on track, encourage individuals into STEM related roles behind the scenes and engage creative talent to share their passion for the sport with the world.

www.drivenbydiversity.com 
Instagram: @wearedrivenbydiversity
Driven by Diversity is a 501(c)(3) non-profit registered in the USA, company number C4723983

About Non-Fungible Tokens

NFT stands for "non-fungible token", a digital asset that links ownership to unique physical or digital items, such as works of art, real estate, music, or videos.

NFTs can be considered modern-day collectibles. They're bought and sold online, and represent a digital proof of ownership of any given item.