McLaren F1 Recruits Sonic The Hedgehog In Historic SEGA Partnership
The Blue Blur is speeding onto the motorsport scene, as SEGA is now the official gaming partner of McLaren Racing, marking a historic multi-year collaboration with gaming icon Sonic the Hedgehog.
This partnership is part of Sonic Team's 2025 'Racing Around the World' campaign, leading into 2026, which coincides with Sonic's 35th Anniversary and the McLaren Formula 1 (F1) Team's 1,000th Grand Prix. According to a press release, the collaboration promises 'creative integrations and experiences that fuse the worlds of motorsport and gaming and engage audiences of all ages both on the grid and screen', although no specific details were revealed on what this will entail.
'The collaboration between Sonic the Hedgehog and McLaren Racing underscores our shared passion for high-speed action and racing.' said SEGA/ATLUS Brand Marketing vice president Marcella Churchill. 'By combining Sonic's iconic appeal with McLaren, we're creating a partnership that should excite fans everywhere. This partnership is about celebrating our shared values, and we can't wait to share this collaboration and the future activations to come with fans.'
In addition, SEGA will also be hosting an activation event at McLaren Racing Live: London, a fan-focused extravaganza taking place at Trafalgar Square from 2 to 3 July 2025. Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds (2025)
This partnership also marks a reunion between the two racing giants after more than 30 years. Back in 1993, during the European Grand Prix, which was also known as the Sonic Grand Prix, McLaren F1 Team driver Ayrton Senna won the race and was awarded a Sonic the Hedgehog trophy on the podium.
The collaboration also highlights SEGA's key game release for the year, Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds , which is due out on 25 September 2025. The title marks the latest entry in Sonic's racing game line-up, and will introduce a mid-race portal mechanic to give racers an edge against their competition, alongside introducing multiple guest racers from popular IPs, including Minecraft's Steve, Persona's Joker, Hatsune Miku, and Spongebob Squarepants.
Kevin is a reformed PC Master Race gamer with a penchant for franchise 'duds' like Darksiders III and Dead Space 3 . He has made it his life-long mission to play every single major game release – lest his wallet dies trying.
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Rather than stage a fictional wreck, director Kosinski splices in real footage of Martin Donnelly's horrifying 1990 Spanish Grand Prix crash, itself an audacious, borderline exploitative move that lends visceral power at the cost of taste. There's something eerily meta about the way Hayes is written, as if Pitt is circling through echoes of his old roles: grimy charm in a trailer à la Cliff Booth in Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood (2019), a laid-back Vegas smoothness like Rusty Ryan in the Ocean's franchise (2001-2007), and flashes of moody introspection from Roy Richard McBride in Ad Astra (2019). Hayes is a remix of archetypes who doesn't just break rules; he cruises past them like they're race markers that don't apply to him. And somehow, the movie agrees. But even a superstar comeback needs tension, which arrives in the form of Damson Idris' ( Snowfall ) Joshua Pearce, a hotshot rookie with something to prove and no interest in sharing the spotlight. 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The Blue Blur is speeding onto the motorsport scene, as SEGA is now the official gaming partner of McLaren Racing, marking a historic multi-year collaboration with gaming icon Sonic the Hedgehog. This partnership is part of Sonic Team's 2025 'Racing Around the World' campaign, leading into 2026, which coincides with Sonic's 35th Anniversary and the McLaren Formula 1 (F1) Team's 1,000th Grand Prix. According to a press release, the collaboration promises 'creative integrations and experiences that fuse the worlds of motorsport and gaming and engage audiences of all ages both on the grid and screen', although no specific details were revealed on what this will entail. 'The collaboration between Sonic the Hedgehog and McLaren Racing underscores our shared passion for high-speed action and racing.' said SEGA/ATLUS Brand Marketing vice president Marcella Churchill. 'By combining Sonic's iconic appeal with McLaren, we're creating a partnership that should excite fans everywhere. This partnership is about celebrating our shared values, and we can't wait to share this collaboration and the future activations to come with fans.' In addition, SEGA will also be hosting an activation event at McLaren Racing Live: London, a fan-focused extravaganza taking place at Trafalgar Square from 2 to 3 July 2025. Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds (2025) This partnership also marks a reunion between the two racing giants after more than 30 years. Back in 1993, during the European Grand Prix, which was also known as the Sonic Grand Prix, McLaren F1 Team driver Ayrton Senna won the race and was awarded a Sonic the Hedgehog trophy on the podium. The collaboration also highlights SEGA's key game release for the year, Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds , which is due out on 25 September 2025. The title marks the latest entry in Sonic's racing game line-up, and will introduce a mid-race portal mechanic to give racers an edge against their competition, alongside introducing multiple guest racers from popular IPs, including Minecraft's Steve, Persona's Joker, Hatsune Miku, and Spongebob Squarepants. Kevin is a reformed PC Master Race gamer with a penchant for franchise 'duds' like Darksiders III and Dead Space 3 . He has made it his life-long mission to play every single major game release – lest his wallet dies trying.
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