Cars & motorsport
F1 Fever: A Watch-centric Summer Update
The connection between car racing and watchmaking has always been a particularly profound intersection. However, this year’s F1 season has pulled even more focus onto the powerful overlaps. With months still left to go for the competitions, here’s an update.
By Mike Espindle
Executive Editor
With all but two of the 2025 Formula 1 racing teams having significant watch sponsors, and with LVMH’s 10-year, billion-plus dollar uber-sponsorship of F1 (which includes TAG Heuer as the race series’ official timekeeper and more), the spirit of watches meeting the track has never been more elevated, apt, and passionately discussed.
Here is an update on where the connection stands currently, particularly if your heart already beats strongly around engines, movements, and velocity.
TAG Heuer
As said, TAG Heuer is now the official timekeeper of F1, and has already taken some aggressive product steps to give that relationship some life on the wrist. Thus, at this year’s Watches and Wonders, TAG leaned into its relatively accessible Formula 1 Solargraph line with new material updates and race livery colorways.
In fact, several models draw direct lines to specific F1 races and have been/will be debuting in concert with those events. This approach creates a series of “fan appeal” timepieces that are both accessible and carry a level of specific association and detail that was a “win” before the first F1 race even began.
Part of the overall sponsorship arrangement placed TAG Heuer as the “title sponsor” of the very important Monaco F1 Grand Prix earlier this summer. The watchmaker took that opportunity to release a trio of impressive racing-inspired models based around the Monaco’s legendary square case (plus a commemorative stopwatch, too boot).
Additionally, the watchmaker’s sponsorship of Red Bull Racing, now in its 9th year, continues. The Red Bull team is currently in 4th place overall, with driving legend Max Verstappen holding a 3rd place slot and teammate Yuki Tsunoda at 18th place in the driver standings.
Richard Mille
The envelope-pushing watchmaker holds the distinction of having two deep connections with prominent F1 racing teams, and that double-dip is paying off in terms of the teams’ performances. Since 2016, Richard Mille has collaborated with McLaren both as an automaker and as a racing team, which is currently ranked first.
As it did with McLaren, Mille has also collaborated with Ferrari, both as an exquisite automaker and with Ferrari’s F1 team, currently ranked second in the team standings, since 2021.
The Maison’s most recent race-worthy timepiece, however, is this RM 30-01 Le Mans Classic Limited Edition that debuted as this year’s heritage Le Mans Classic races.
McLaren drivers Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris log in at first and second place, respectively, on points. Meanwhile, Ferrari’s Charles LeClerc is quickly followed by teammate Lewis Hamilton in 5th and 6th place, respectively, in the driver standings.
IWC Schaffhausen
The watchmaker has sponsored the prestigious Mercedes F1 team since 2013 as an official “engineering partner.” There have been many team-related watches over the years, but IWC appears to be throwing a lot of weight behind its “partnership” with the fictional APXGP F1 team from this summer’s Brad Pitt blockbuster F1 movie.
The Mercedes team is currently in 3rd place, with driver George Russell at an equally strong 4th place and driver Kimi Antonelli ranked 7th. You’ll have to watch the movie to find out how the APXGP team does; we don’t believe in spoilers.
Girard-Perregaux
Since 2021, Girard-Perregaux has enjoyed a partnership with British performance carmaker Aston Martin and has sponsored the Aston Martin F1 team. This partnership has produced a bevy of collaborative watches with a direct relationship to the racing team, and its latest velocity-associated timepiece is this new Laureato Skeleton Aston Martin Edition.
Aston Martin currently holds the 6th place in the F1 team rankings, with drivers Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll following each other in points at 11th and 12th place, respectively.
H. Moser & Cie.
The newest F1 team sponsor from the watch world is inventive Swiss independent maker H. Moser & Cie. The company kicked off its partnership with the Alpine F1 team with two limited-edition Streamliners in 2024. Its most recent team-related release is this new, sleek Streamliner Alpine Drivers Edition.
Alpine’s team ranking is currently at number 10, with lead driver Pierre Gasly in 14th place on points. Franco Colapinto replaced team driver Jack Doohan mid-season and is ranked 20th, with just a limited number of race starts.
Tudor
Watchmaker Tudor has had a partnership with the Racing Bulls F1 team since 2023, and, right from the start, the watchmaker wove that racing relationship together with its sponsorship of the Alinghi sailing team, which Rell Bull also sponsors. To that end, this Pelagos FXD “Alinghi Red Bull Racing Edition” debuted two years ago.
The Racing Bulls hold the 8th position in the current team rankings, with driver Isack Hadjar in 13th, and driver Liam Lawson in 15th place in points.