British motor racing team McLaren Racing has joined a multi-year partnership with Sonic the Hedgehog, Sega has confirmed.
Designed to highlight each partner as “globally recognised icons of speed”, the pairing will lead to “creative integrations and experiences that fuse the worlds of motorsport and gaming and engage audiences of all ages both on the grid and screen”.
The collaboration will continue through Sonic Team’s ‘Racing Around the World’ campaign this year, into Sonic’s 35th anniversary this year, as well as the McLaren F1 team’s 1,000th Grand Prix.
Introducing the newest member of the papaya family,@Sonic_Hedgehog🤩🚀#McLaren#Sonic
— McLaren (@McLarenF1)July 26, 2025
Segais describing the partnership as “a reunion more than thirty years in the making”, but the event it’s referring to wasn’t originally supposed to involve McLaren.
Prost and Hill were favourites to win the race, but it was instead won by McLaren’s Ayrton Senna, meaning it was Senna, and not a Williams driver, who ended up lifting the one-of-a-kind Sonic trophy on the podium.
The trophy remains in McLaren’s archives to this day, so in a sense the newly announced partnership takes what was an unintentional collaboration more than three decades ago and now makes it official.
Look what we found… 👀
Ayrton Senna’s iconic SEGA trophy from THAT 1993#F1race at Donington! ❤️pic.twitter.com/aCA6se6IFM
— McLaren (@McLarenF1)Jul 14, 2025
“The collaboration between Sonic the Hedgehog and McLaren Racing underscores our shared passion for high-speed action and racing,” Sega /Atlusvice president of brand marketing Marcella Churchill said in a statement.
McLaren Racing chief marketing officer Louise McEwen added: “We’re thrilled to welcome Sonic the Hedgehog to the McLaren Racing family.
“This partnership brings together two iconic names in speed, and opens up our team to a wider, younger global audience. Sonic is a character with incredible heritage and a passionate fanbase, and we are very excited to celebrate our partnership at McLaren Racing Live: London.”
