3 March 2026 17:00 (UTC)
What are digital collectibles? Should I be buying any? And how can I get one? Your key questions answered
The art of collecting is nothing new: At some point, we’re all likely to have owned sports trading cards of some form, listened to our parents’ vinyl collection, or flicked through our grandparents’ shiny coin album.
Digital collectibles are essentially an online version of this. It’s an exciting way for fans to engage with the illustrious racing history of McLaren Racing, by owning a digital slice of our past or future success.
But that doesn’t make them easy to understand so it’s likely that you will have plenty of questions. Don’t worry, you’re not alone and we’re here to help. We want everyone to feel included, so we’ve compiled a handy one-stop shop to simplify the key info and answer the important questions.
As we touched upon above, just as some people collect trading cards, stamps, coins, and art, people own and trade rare and unique digital collectibles.
Instead of a physical item that you can touch, these are purely digital. They are created from digital objects that represent both tangible and intangible objects such as art, videos, GIFs, and music.
This could be pictures, animations, or other digital files. Digital collectibles come in many forms, and no two are the same, but all have the same basic premise.
For the 2026 Formula 1 season, we’re levelling up our digital collectibles programme, MCL / COLLECT, which is now powered by Hedera.
Across the season, fans can collect four unique sets of six free-to-claim digital collectibles, starting from Round 1 in Melbourne. Each set is based on a completely different art style, ensuring every drop feels fresh, distinctive, and stands out in its own right.
Complete a full set of six and you will unlock entry into an exclusive prize draw, from McLaren Technology Centre tours, to signed merchandise. Every set brings you closer to winning one of these special prizes.
Once claimed, fans can trade their digital collectibles on the secondary marketplace, buying any that they don’t have or selling to another member of the Papaya Family who may have missed out.
Our MCL / COLLECT digital collectibles exist on the Hedera network, a public distributed ledger technology (DLT) that’s fast, environmentally sustainable, and secure.
In simple terms, a distributed ledger is a digital record-keeping system and database, which provides a secure and transparent way of recording and verifying transactions without the need for a central authority.
Hedera use a special type of DLT, called hashgraph, which delivers lower fees, and greater energy efficiency than traditional DLTs, while maintaining enterprise-grade security and transparency.
A Hedera-compatible wallet is required to hold MCL / COLLECT digital collectables.
Unlike your beautifully made Reiss wallet, your Hedera wallet is purely digital and cannot be used to store any of your bank cards or your hard-earned cash… however, it can be used to keep all of your private keys and digital assets safe and secure in one place, including our digital collectibles.
Cryptocurrencies are digital forms of money not issued by a central bank or government. Each cryptocurrency has unique properties for its own bespoke use cases, including privacy, speed, and more. Like any form of money, cryptocurrencies are fungible: a Bitcoin is always equal to another Bitcoin, in just the same way that a pound is always equal to a pound.
Web3 describes the latest era of the internet. It is a vision for a decentralised internet focused on ownership and participation. It aims to create a more open, transparent, and user-centric internet by giving users more control over their data, digital assets, and online identity.
Downloading, copying, and distributing digital files online is nothing new but, just like a one-of-a-kind painting, there’s only one original that can be owned. And when you buy a digital collectible, you are getting a verified, digital certification of ownership of a piece of data – proof that you own the original.
Admittedly, if you bought a Digital collectible of the all-conquering MP4/4 it wouldn’t be quite the same as owning the actual car, but you would own a unique, non-interchangeable digital representation of it. Not only is that going to be worth a lot, but it’s also going to give you some serious bragging rights.
We’ve been dropping digital collectibles since 2021. Our debut drop celebrated the Italian Grand Prix winning MCL35M, which we split into 22 parts for you to collect and create your own interactive, 3D-model.
The MCL35M was such hot property that we followed it up with the Gulf-liveried McLaren MCL35M – also split into 22 parts - that Lando drove to a podium at the 2021 Monaco Grand Prix. Subsequent drops have also included limited-edition driver cards, the McLaren Shadow-liveried MCL36, and the three UNDFTD x McLaren 2022 Indy 500 livery IndyCars.
In 2023 and 2024, our free-to-claim drops were tied to each round of the F1 calendar, allowing fans to commemorate each race as the action unfolded.
You’ll want to join the aforementioned McLaren Racing Discord to learn more about upcoming releases and be the first to access brand-new digital collectibles. As well as offering the latest info on all of our drops, our Discord server offers fans the chance to chat and interact as part of a live McLaren Racing community.
The McLaren Racing Discord is the home of the Web3 community. It allows you to get to know other friendly members of the Papaya Family who have similar interests. Think of it as an online coffee shop where you can chat to fellow fans and get involved in race watches and quiz nights with prizes on offer.
You’ll also want to keep up to date with the McLaren Racing channels, website and app for the lowdown on what is being released and when, with plenty in the works as we speak.
Hedera uses hashgraph technology, which requires negligible energy compared to other technologies like Bitcoin. Hedera uses only 0.00017kWh per transaction, far less than proof-of-work blockchains. Hedera Council also offsets more carbon than the network produces, making the entire network carbon negative.
McLaren Racing Digital Collectibles are unregulated crypto assets. Their value may go up or down. A Hedera-compatible wallet is required to hold them. Gas fees apply to transfers. Capital gains tax may be payable on resale profits. No intellectual property or commercial usage rights are granted to the underlying artwork. Unregulated crypto assets have an increased potential for fraud.
