Published on January 23rd, 2026
Location: Global
McLaren Racing and Hedera Partner to Expand Digital Fan Engagement
London, January 23 2026 - McLaren Racing today announced a multi-year partnership with Hedera Foundation to leverage Hedera, the trusted public network for building fast, secure, and compliant decentralised applications.
Hedera will become an Official Partner of the McLaren Mastercard Formula 1 and the Arrow McLaren IndyCar Team. The partnership will connect real-world racing environments with Web3 infrastructure to deliver new fan engagement experiences and officially licensed digital activations.
With a shared mission of engineering excellence, performance, speed and precision, the partnership unites two leaders of their respective industries who operate at the highest level, on track and in the digital space. Through the collaboration, fans will have access to a new programme of digital experiences designed to bring them closer to the team. Built on Hedera, these activations will benefit from the trust, security, and credibility of the network.
“Innovation off the track is just as important as performance on it," said Nick Martin, Co-Chief Commercial Officer of McLaren Racing.
"Partnering with Hedera allows us to deliver cutting-edge Web3 experiences for our fans. We’re excited to welcome Hedera to the McLaren family as we continue to push boundaries on and off the track.”
McLaren Racing’s first use case on Hedera will be a digital collectibles programme. Fans should look forward to a series of free-to-claim collectibles, released during F1 Grand Prix weekends. Additionally, the partnership with Hedera will mark the exciting return of Arrow McLaren IndyCar digital collectibles for the 2026 season. The motorsport themed digital collectibles will also incorporate unique experiences, prizes and incentives to further connect fans to the world of racing. Building and learning from these digital collectibles programmes with our fans, McLaren Racing and Hedera aim to continually iterate and develop new programmes aimed at bridging the gap between the physical and the digital worlds. Fans can learn more through McLaren Racing’s Discord server, whether they are Web3-native or new to the scene.
“Working with one of the world’s most recognized sports brands is a big step for the Hedera ecosystem," said Charles Adkins, CEO of HBAR, Inc.
"It gives us a chance to show what Web3 can look like when it’s built on a network people can trust, and when it’s tied to experiences fans actually want. This partnership is the first phase of a longer program that we look forward to building together with McLaren Racing.”
Hedera branding will feature on the McLaren Mastercard Formula 1 Team car, as well as driver race suits. It will also feature on the No. 6 and No. 7 Arrow McLaren Chevrolets, and Arrow McLaren team kit.
Global sports marketing agency SPORTFIVE helped broker this historic deal between McLaren and Hedera, and will continue to advise on partnership strategy and execution.
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About SPORTFIVE
SPORTFIVE is a global sports marketing agency that delivers customer-centric solutions based on trust and transparency, deep industry experience and global relationships, digital intelligence and innovation. SPORTFIVE strategically and creatively connects brands, rightsholders, media platforms and fans to create and enable contemporary partnerships in sports.
While creating and growing long-term value for all, SPORTFIVE often leads the sports business into the future through innovative digital solutions and strives to be the most progressive and respected partner in sports.
Being at the centre of professional sport SPORTFIVE will use its unique position, in order to make a positive contribution to sustainability and to live up to the social and economic duty and responsibility, which sport and consequently all parties involved, also have. SPORTFIVE operates with a global mindset and network of over 1,200 local experts based in 15 countries around the world, active in Football, Golf, Handball, Motorsport, Esports, Cricket, Tennis, American Football, Basketball, Hockey, Rugby, Olympics and Multi-Sport Events, Wintersports and many more.
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About McLaren Racing
McLaren Racing was founded by racing driver Bruce McLaren in 1963. The team entered its first Formula 1 race in 1966. McLaren has since won 23 Formula 1 world championships, over 200 Formula 1 Grands Prix, the Indianapolis 500 three times, and the Le Mans 24 Hours at its first attempt.
McLaren Racing competes across four racing series. The team competes in the FIA Formula 1 World Championship with McLaren Mastercard F1 drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, the NTT INDYCAR SERIES with Arrow McLaren drivers Pato O’Ward, Nolan Siegel and Christian Lundgaard, and F1 Academy with Driver Development Programme members Ella Lloyd and Ella Stevens. The team also competes in the F1 Sim Racing Championship as McLaren Shadow.
McLaren is a champion for sustainability in the sport and a signatory to the UN Sports for Climate Action Commitment. It is committed to achieving net zero by 2040 and fostering a diverse and inclusive culture in the motorsport industry.
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About Hedera
Hedera is the trust layer of the digital economy. As the world’s only public distributed ledger network governed by known global institutions, Hedera provides a trusted foundation for building fast, secure, and compliant applications in regulated environments.
Powered by its unique hashgraph consensus, Hedera delivers high throughput, fast finality, and predictable low-cost fees. Its performance and reliability make it well suited for enterprise tokenization and other mission-critical systems where scale, security, and compliance matter.
Hedera is governed by a rotating, decentralized council of leading global enterprises, universities, nonprofits, and institutions, ensuring transparency, stability, and long-term trust.Hedera offers HashSphere, a private and hybrid distributed ledger solution powered by Hedera’s enterprise technology. HashSphere provides the data privacy, control, and compliance capabilities required by regulated organizations, with optional interoperability with the public Hedera network.
For more information, visit hedera.com, or follow Hedera on X and LinkedIn.
Press contacts
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Jack Milko
Communications & PR Manager, USA
jack.milko@sportfive.com
