Before claiming his watch, Max Verstappen was challenged in the spirit of #DontCrackUnderPressure for an entertaining football competition against the two times World Champion in Panna Jeand Doest and former Dutch professional football player Regi Blinker. This competition, Batak© called “ICON” was made possible by TAG Heuer’s involvement in professional football leagues. It delighted the audience.

Then, the new 2017 Max Verstappen Special Edition was revealed. The Special Edition underlines his great and long commitment in motor-racing. As requested by Max, his lucky number “33” is engraved on the back of the case, in order to always keep it close to his wrist. This number was Max’s first starting number when he began carting and it is also his starting number at Red Bull Racing Formula One. The “33” stands for continuity and means something really special for Max. For this reason, Max asked to produce 533 pieces of the edition. With this new watch, fans of Max Verstappen will have a new opportunity to wear a little piece of racing and Max’s history on their wrists.

Max Verstappen was bitten by the racing bug at an early age, inspired by his father, the former Formula One driver Jos Verstappen. He began karting when he was just eight years old and soon moved onto international karting where he was crowned European Karting Champion twice and World Karting Champion once. After the Formula 3 European Championship in 2014 Max’s meteoric rise continued when he was promoted to the premiere league of car racing and joined the Formula One team Scuderia Toro Rosso for the 2015 season. Since the Spanish Grand Prix in 2016 Max has been a member of the Red Bull Racing team. In the first Grand Prix race of his career for the new team, he set a phenomenal precedent, becoming the youngest Formula One Grand Prix winner of all time.

Max Verstappen said during the event: “I wanted something that is dear to me. Athletes are quite fetishist, and this number 33 is always with me now, on my wrist, with this special edition. It will remind me of my challenges and my performances to always do better. It has been so much fun to do this reveal in my home country!”

A landmark agreement back in December 2015 saw TAG Heuer become the Official Timekeeper & Official Watch of the Red Bull Racing Formula One team. The two brands announced the name of the 2017 car, "Red Bull Racing TAG Heuer RB13", with TAG Heuer being included in the team’s official constructor listing. It is the first time a watchmaker has ever been named directly in the constructors’ listing in this way.

The TAG Heuer Formula 1 No.33 Max Verstappen 2017 Special Edition has a blue aluminium bezel with tachymeter scale and a specially marked red space on the dial with a written “33”. This strengthens his starting number. Other highlights of the watch include a red perforated rubber strap and the wording “TAG Heuer Formula 1 No.33 Max Verstappen 2017 Special Edition” as well as the figure “33” engraved on the back of the case. The watch is limited to 533 pieces worldwide and it will be from September 2017 on sale in the Netherlands exclusively.