The day the fastest driver met the fastest mascot
April 11th, 1993 was a special day for F1 and SEGA fans; The race took place at Donnigton Park, England, and was named the XXXVIII SEGA European Grand Prix. Our beloved video game company sponsored the event and it was one of the best F1 races of all time.
In that year, SEGA was already sponsoring the Williams team, which won the Constructor’s Championship as well as the Driver’s championship the same year. Sonic was featured on the cars and helmets of the team, but the rival team (McLaren) started to use the paint of a squashed hedgehog after winning some races over Williams.
The SEGA logo could be seen everywhere on the track; The race started under severe rain, which made it becomes a true spectacle. Prost started on the pole, but Senna, who had started in 4th and dropped to 5th, assumed the 1st place after passing 4 cars in what is considered (for many) the greatest F1 lap ever.
The race finished with Ayrton Senna in 1st, Damon Hill in 2nd and Alain Prost in 3rd. The best part of the race SEGA had saved for the podium, where Senna was given a Sonic trophy: It created one of the most iconic images of all time.
Even though Senna was from the rival team, the trophy was in good hands. Two years before, Senna had helped SEGA to create Super Monaco GP II, which is one of the best racing games for Master System and Mega Drive. No other drive deserved to receive a trophy of Sonic because both Senna and our Blue friend are known by their insane speed.
