American legend Mario Andretti will play a starring role in Bahrain in two weeks time when he is reunited with the Lotus 79 in which he won the 1978 world championship title.

Mario, patriarch of the famous Andretti racing dynasty, will be reunited with the legendary black and gold car as part of an event marking the sixtieth anniversary of the Formula One World Championship.

"I'm delighted to be invited to the Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix and especially to be part of the celebration of the 60th anniversary of F1. This is something very special to me," said Andretti, who celebrates his 70th birthday on February 28.

Not only did the American legend win 12 grands prix in his 13 seasons of F1, with teams such as Lotus, Ferrari, Alfa Romeo and Williams but he also won the American Indy Car title four times, the 1969 Indianapolis 500 and NASCAR's Daytona 500 in 1967.

Andretti will take part in an unforgettable gathering of former world champions in Bahrain including Sir Jack Brabham (1959, 1960, 1966), Sir Jackie Stewart (1969, 1971, 1973), Emerson Fittipaldi (1972, 1974) and Nigel Mansell (1992).

Starting in May 1950 at the British Grand Prix, FIA Formula One World Championship has witnessed 809 - 820 if one includes the 11 times the Indianapolis 500 counted towards the championship - grands prix across Europe, North America, South America, Africa, Oceania, Asia and the Middle East.

A total of 31 drivers have been crowned champion from Dr. Giuseppe 'Nino' Farina in 1950 to Jenson Button in 2009 and 13 constructors have been crowned from Vanwall in 1958 to Brawn GP in 2009.

The 60th Anniversary celebrations in Bahrain will feature a unique collection of more than 20 world championship-winning cars from every era, including Ferrari, Maserati, Mercedes-Benz, Cooper, BRM, Lotus, Matra, Tyrrell, Brabham, Williams and McLaren, including: