Netflix and Chill with TAG Heuer’s Carrera Extreme Sport Chronograph x Senna Limited Edition

If you consider yourself a fan of F1 racing, you probably know all about Ayrton Senna. However, if you want to learn more about motorsports in general, you need to know about him.

One of the GOATs of the sport, São Paolo native Ayrton Senna da Silva was a dominant figure in F1 beginning in 1984 until his tragic death at the age of 34 in 1994 after a crash at that year’s San Marino Grand Prix in Italy (he was leading pack, by the way).

What do we mean by “dominant”? Try three F1 World Driver’s Championships driving for the McLaren team, 41 Grand Prix wins, and setting the record for the most career pole positions (65). That is just naming a few of his accomplishments; imagine if he had gotten a few more years behind the wheel.
 

In addition to his racing accolades, Ayrton Senna, from 1988 on, was also a TAG Heuer ambassador and famously wore a Senna S/EL Link Chronograph S25.706C timepiece in real life, among other iconic TAG Heuer watches. In fact, since his death, TAG has created numerous wristwatches honoring the driver, including two chronograph tourbillons for the Carrera Collection in 2018 and 2019.

But this latest commemorative watch – the TAG Heuer Carrera Extreme Sport Chronograph Tourbillon x Senna Limited Edition – is something extra-special.

Combining racing-inspired, cutting-edge materials with knowing, connective nods to the racing legend, the 500-piece limited edition TAG Heuer Carrera Extreme Sport Chronograph Tourbillon x Senna serves as a full-on modern complicated racing watch as well as an apt ode to Ayrton Senna’s ongoing influence on and inspiration to motorsports.
 

A bold yellow “Senna” and posthumous “S” brand logo are inscribed on the carbon bezel, with that same “S” logo riding atop the 9 o’clock hours sub-dial. The tachymetric scale goes up to a Senna-worthy 400 km/h, and the artful semi-transparent caseback has the legendary driver gazing out from behind his helmet. Overall, the commemorations present a subtle, appropriate approach.
 

The 44mm titanium case frames a black-plated skeletonized dial with a minute tallier at 3 o’clock, an hour counter at 9 o’clock, and a gravity-fighting tourbillon at the expected 6 o’clock. A lush, technical blue rubber strap plays well with the additional blue, green, and yellow color details of the dial.

Finally, a Carrera-line pillar, the 4Hz TH20-09 automatic movement with a 65-hour power reserve, serves as the engine of this timepiece.
 

Meant to embody the passion and precision Senna displayed on the track, Antoine Pin, CEO of TAG Heuer, commented at the time of the watch’s launch: “Ayrton Senna has marked us all at TAG Heuer and has marked the world of motorsports, both on the track and in life. With the launch of the TAG Heuer Carrera Chronograph Tourbillon x Senna, we celebrate his enduring spirit and inspire future generations of champions just as he inspired us.”

If you want to learn more about the life of Ayrton Senna, then you’re in quite a bit of luck! Netflix began airing an excellent 6-part dramatic series called Senna on November 29th, with TAG Heuer spokesperson Gabriel Leone playing the eponymous sports legend.