Cars & motorsport
The F1 Watch Wars Are On!
The Venn diagram of timepiece fandom and motorsports obsession is basically a circle, and this mutual affinity has created profound partnerships and collaborative back-and-forth for decades, especially in elite F1 racing. But what characteristics make for a winning F1 team-inspired watch?
By Mike Espindle
Executive Editor
Even though we are less than halfway through the official 2024 F1 season (the races end in December with the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix), the phrase “F1 watch war” is already on the lips of fans of the sport and fans of fine watchmaking.
Watch brand-F1 team partnerships are certainly nothing new, with only three of the ten competing teams not having some kind of timepiece partnership for this season (the Haas F1 team, which had a brief partnership with Cyrus from 2021-23; Williams Racing, which carried Bremont as a sponsor those same years as well as Oris before that; and the Sauber team, then as Alfa Romeo, was sponsored by Rebellion Watches from 2022-23).
So, while marque partnerships may shift and come and go, what makes for the most effective F1-inspired timepieces, the ones destined for the winners’ circle? The ones with “legs”?
An Expert View
We tapped the insight of Christian Zeron, a bona fide branding expert (through his LMFNYC agency), especially in the arena of motorsports-timepiece partnerships, and the head of an ongoing aftermarket watch concern (Theo & Harris).
“Maximizing the value – the public impact – of a partnership is key,” Zeron told us. “The alternative is to spend a few million bucks on a car sticker that moves few. And, seemingly, by the day, consumers raise the bar for what meaningful marketing needs to look like. Sincerity is key here; awareness alone is no longer enough.”
Disqualifying Rounds
Of the seven teams with watch partnerships this season, six have long-term relationships with a watchmaker and fully collaborative timepieces associated with the racing team. So, while Ferrari has a relationship with Richard Mille, the 2022 RM UP-01 Ferrari timepiece is more related to the Ferrari brand, not the F1 team.
Rolex is the overall watch sponsor for the world of F1, so there is no team-specific Rolex product. That said, Rolex uses the Cosmograph Daytona in nearly all of its car racing activations, including the 2024 F1 season.
[Editor’s Note: At press time, the news that Rolex is stepping down as the F1 super-sponsor after this season, with TAG Heuer taking over as the new overall F1 sponsor, has only just broken.]
That leaves us with TAG Heuer and Red Bull Racing, IWC and Mercedes-AMG Petronas, Richard Mille and McLaren, Girard-Perregaux and Aston Martin, Tudor and Visa Cash App/RB (VCARB), and H. Moser & Cie. and Alpine Racing.
Richard Mille RM 11-03 McLaren
While this stunning Richard Mille is an ode to speed and affiliated with the overall McLaren brand, the RM 11-03 McLaren has so much F1-inspired design and material that it qualifies as a genuine team-inspired watch.
Released in 2017 when Richard Mille began its relationship with McLaren, the RM 11-03 McLaren will be hard to find, even in the aftermarket, for two reasons: First, the original price was over $230,000 (in 2017 dollars). And second, it was initially offered only to top McLaren customers.
According to Zeron: “These two brands might as well be fraternal twins. They’re two elite manufacturers that attract high-energy folks with an insatiable appetite for performance and no taste for subtlety.
“Together, these brands can start a movement. They can influence culture. They can have a say in what success looks like over the next decade.
“It also doesn’t hurt that they were the thought leader on building a strong and logical bridge through the materials (especially carbon fiber, their material common denominator).”
F1 Watch Wars Ranking: 1
Current 2024 F1 Team Ranking: 3
H. Moser & Cie. Streamliner Cylindrical Tourbillon Skeleton Alpine Limited Edition
In a partnership announced for this year’s season, one of the F1 world’s newest watch-team collaborations is also one of its most complicated, with its inaugural collaborative piece, the H. Moser & Cie. Streamliner Cylindrical Tourbillon Skeleton Alpine Limited Edition, as its centerpiece.
It is also one of its priciest, with the 100-piece model in the Alpine F1 team’s signature blue livery and the 20-piece model featuring the team’s pink livery costing a cool $98,000 each.
This intriguing tourbillon watch isn’t even a chronograph. But that’s part of the point. The new-jack relationship between H. Moser and Alpine is one to keep your eyes on, for sure.
Our expert’s observations: “This partnership has honest, beautiful roots with great potential. If, together, they can storytell [sic] their mutual affinity that predates their official partnership, this can be a wild success.
“It’s an atypical approach but also aggressive and playful. While not a chronograph, it’s a perfect bridge between these two brands, both with enormous upward mobility.”
F1 Watch Wars Ranking: 2
Current 2024 F1 Team Ranking: 8
Tudor Black Bay Ceramic “Blue” V-CARB F1
Tudor has partnered with the alternate Red Bull-aligned F1 team since 2023. However, this year, the team was redubbed as Visa Cash App-RB or V-CARB.
In the past, Tudor has produced some striking Black Bay Ceramic timepieces that were team-only exclusives. Luckily for us, this year, the watchmaker announced that the 41mm Black Bay Ceramic “Blue” V-CARB F1 will be available to the public for $5,150.
In our expert’s estimation: “Bold in color but subtle in branding, this Tudor X V-CARB Black Bay is differentiated, approachable, and well-positioned to invite fans from the two respective hobbies to cross over into the other. Whether or not its contrast palate is to your liking, the release itself is certainly well designed and, in my view, destined for success.”
F1 Watch Wars Ranking: 3
Current 2024 F1 Team Ranking: 6
TAG Heuer Formula 1 Chronograph x Red Bull Racing
Introduced back in 2022 (the brand began supporting the Red Bull F1 team in 2016), the 43mm steel TAG Heuer Formula 1 Chronograph x Red Bull Racing Special Edition not only picks up the team’s livery colors and carries a caseback engraving as an ode to the team, it is based on a quartz movement, making it the wallet-friendlier choice for Red Bull F1 aficionados, costing only $2,400.
[Editor’s Note: With TAG taking the reins from Rolex as next year’s overall F1 sponsor, there is, as of yet, no word on whether the watchmaker will continue to partner with the Red Bull team.]
According to Zeron: “This is more of a mass market strategy between this (albeit handsome) quartz chrono and the recent F1 collection. TAG’s skeleton Monaco timepiece, for example, might better reflect the visual values of F1 racing. Still, this mass approach has strong value.”
F1 Watch Wars Ranking: 4
Current 2024 F1 Team Ranking: 1
IWC Pilot’s Watch Chrono 41 “Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One Team”
This mouthful of a model name, which comes in a 41mm titanium case, was also released in 2022 as an online exclusive. In fact, it is still listed on IWC’s website, retailing for $8,350.
With dynamic dial lume and a sporty rubber strap that echoes the partner F1 team’s unmistakable livery, the Pilot’s Watch Chronograph 41 Edition “Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One Team” is powered by the manufacture Calibre 69385 movement and is a fully-fledged IWC sports timepiece in every mechanical respect.
Zeron’s assessment: “While this collaboration is not overbranded, it is also not overly F1 inspired. But it creates a great bridge for watch enthusiasts to gain entry into these two worlds.
Moreover, with lead driver Lewis Hamilton’s impending departure from the Mercedes-AMG Petronas team, it does beg the question: Is the future more approachable? Will the bump-up of young driver Andrea Kimi Antonelli provide a perfect ambassador for something more appealing to his peers?”
F1 Watch Wars Ranking: 5
Current 2024 F1 Team Ranking: 4
Girard-Perregaux Laureato Absolute Chrono Aston Martin F1 Limited Edition
If you’re going to partner with Aston Martin’s F1 team, you’ve got to get the green right. Fortunately, watchmaker Girard-Perregaux did just that with the 2022 Laureato Absolute Chronograph Aston Martin F1 Limited Edition timepiece (which is still listed on the watchmaker’s website for its original price of $27,800).
This gorgeous 41mm study in carbon fiber and racing green checks a lot of boxes for this competition. And according to our expert: “This timepiece is a logical, but somewhat uninventive, stab at a motorsports collaboration. It’s not pushing any boundaries but not appealing to the masses, either.
“Still, this watch carries an essence of making you a member of the club, but I don’t think either side will see a lot of new growth and adoption because of it.”
F1 Watch Wars Ranking: 6
Current 2024 F1 Team Ranking: 5