Akira Toriyama's Autographed F1 Flag is Up for Auction

In 1989, Honda’s involvement in Formula 1 and the global cult status of Ayrton Senna had created a wave of motorsport interest in Japan. Shueisha, the publisher behind Weekly Shonen Jump, moved to capitalize on it by sponsoring McLaren’s F1 team. Their logo appeared on the nosecone of the 1990 McLaren for the first time.

Shonen Jump was, at the time, the best-selling weekly manga anthology in the world, selling up to 9 million copies per week. One of its flagship titles was Dragon Ball, which was being adapted into Dragon Ball Z and airing in Japan from 1989 to 1996. Toriyama himself was a lifelong car and motorcycle enthusiast, a passion he traced to his father’s automotive shop.

He brought that energy to the collaboration, illustrating Goku, Bulma, Master Roshi, Kid Goku, and Krillin alongside Gerhard Berger’s McLaren-Honda MP4/5B.

In 1990, Toriyama traveled to Hockenheim for the German Grand Prix and met Senna in person. Shueisha’s sponsorship of McLaren ran through 1992, and while the partnership was brief, it produced some of the most striking pieces of crossover memorabilia in motorsport history.

The flag up for auction features the Weekly Shonen Jump logo, Japanese text reading “Jump” and “Hissho” (meaning “certain victory”), and Toriyama’s signature placed cleanly beside the illustrations without obscuring any of the artwork. F1 Authentics describes it as being in flawless condition after over 35 years.

Toriyama died suddenly and unexpectedly of a brain bleed in 2024 at 68 years old. His autographs were never common, and they’re not getting more common. Even relatively modest authenticated Toriyama signatures have sold for hundreds of dollars on their own. This is not a modest example. It’s a one-of-a-kind piece of promotional art that Toriyama created specifically for the McLaren partnership, in original tapestry flag form, signed, and gifted with a documented chain of ownership.

Crossover collectibles operate in a different market tier than single-fandom items. A McLaren piece appeals to one crowd. A Dragon Ball Z piece appeals to another. A Toriyama-signed piece that combines both, with a verifiable backstory tying it to Senna-era McLaren during one of F1’s most beloved periods, can pull bidders from multiple directions. That’s the kind of competition that pushes auction prices well past opening bids.

The auction opened around $5,800 with roughly 9 days remaining. Where it lands depends on who shows up in the final hours. Serious collectors in either the anime memorabilia space or the F1 memorabilia space know what they’re looking at here. If two or more of them end up in a bidding war, prices above $20,000 or even $50,000 are realistic.

And whether the eventual sale represents the floor or the ceiling on this type of collectible is also unknown. What we can say for certain is this auction will get pretty intense towards close as collectors fight for the right to hang it on their wall.

If you’re thinking of placing a bid, you can head over to F1 Authentics’ website and register right now. The current minimum bid is £4,500, close to $6,000. Expect that number to steadily rise as we progress through the week.

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