Cars & motorsport
Considered Opinion: The Big and the Small Game of F1 Watch Sponsorships
We are about mid-season in the 2026 FIA Formula One World Championship races; time to check in on the current state of teams and drivers – and the state of the competition’s ongoing “watch wars.”
By Mike Espindle
Executive Editor
This summer breakdown is becoming something of a tradition here at Watchonista, both with stories this time last year and in 2024.
While we all know about the BIG timepiece partnership game being played under LVMH’s 10-year, $1 billion-plus uber-sponsorship of the F1 organization, which started last year, the small game in this ever-changing world of independent watch brands partnering with individual racing teams is perhaps more tied to each team’s ongoing performance, in terms of the relative success of those relationships.
Yes, the LVMH partnership ensures a decade of ample exposure for the group’s luxury brands, with watchmaker TAG Heuer getting a big bang for the watch buck as the Official Timekeeper for all F1 races as well as the title sponsor of this year’s upcoming Spanish Grand Prix. Meanwhile, Louis Vuitton was the title sponsor of this year’s Monaco Grand Prix, and the LVMH brand Moët Hennessy titles next week’s Belgian Grand Prix.
However, let’s take a deeper, unapologetically opinionated look at each racing team’s watch partnerships, with eight of the 11 teams for 2026 carrying a significant level of support from the watch world.
Mercedes-AMG Petronas/IWC Schaffhausen
While watchmaker IWC certainly grabbed some screen-time attention in last year’s Brad Pitt-helmed F1 blockbuster film, its continuing support of the IRL Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 racing team, currently in first place in the team standings (with drivers Kimi Antonelli and George Russell in first and second place in points, respectively), is paying off for the folks in Schaffhausen this year, so far.
My assessment: The Mercedes team is currently the odds-on favorite to take the crown when the season concludes in Abu Dhabi in December. Additionally, some fans hold the opinion that driver Russell may outpace his teammate to score the most points for 2026. This would be a win for IWC that will probably resonate even more with race fans than the movie did with film fans.
Scuderia Ferrari HP/Richard Mille
Buoyed by the in-lock-step performance of both Lewis Hamilton (currently third in points) and Charles Leclerc (fourth), the Ferrari team is pretty tight on the Mercedes team’s heels, with its 255 points being well under 100 points overall behind the leader’s 333 (with half the season left to go).
Second place aside, Ferrari is Ferrari, and Lewis Hamilton is one of the most popular F1 drivers globally.
My assessment: Normally, I’d have plenty to say about watchmaker Richard Mille’s prescient wisdom of becoming Ferrari’s watch sponsor. However, the artful watchmaker seems to like to hedge its bets when it comes to F1…
McLaren Mastercard F1 Team/Richard Mille
Talk about a one-two punch for Richard Mille! The McLaren team is currently in third place on the F1 board, with drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri running toe-to-toe in 5th and 6th in the points standings, respectively.
For racing fans, the watchmaker’s association with both a famed Italian automotive company and a legendary British maker (although the McLaren teams’ car engines are produced by Mercedes) speaks to some deep motorsports heritage and respect.
My assessment: Even if somehow the championship was awarded today, Mille’s sponsorship of two such well-performing teams would present a notable PR windfall for the brand. If F1 is anything like blackjack, and there isn’t much relative change in the two teams’ positions, doubling down tends to work out statistically.
Oracle Red Bull Racing/TAG Heuer
Notably, watchmaker TAG Heuer retains its ten-year watch partnership with the Oracle Red Bull team for 2026 in addition to the many benefits it receives from LVMH’s overall partnership with F1.
Although the team is currently in fourth place, you really shouldn’t count out driver Max Verstappen this early on (he is currently 7th in points, but he has four previous F1 Driver Championships under his helmet with Red Bull). Ditto on surprising F1 newcomer Isack Hadjar, who is currently just behind Max at 8th on points.
My assessment: Although plagued by mechanical performance issues this year, with these two drivers and half the season left, the Red Bull team could be something of a comeback kid. Maybe not an overall win, but a slightly more respectable finish to the season could add some high-octane fuel to TAG Heuer’s F1 notoriety.
BWT Alpine F1 Team/H. Moser & Cie.
Watchmaker H. Moser & Cie. is in its third year of a relatively unexpected sponsorship of the Alpine F1 racing team, which is decidedly a candidate for “most improved” F1 team of 2026.
Currently standing in the mid-point of the team standings at fifth place, Alpine was dead last overall in 2025 with its tenth-place finish. So, with the improved performance of drivers Pierre Gasly (9th in points) and Franco Colapinto (13th), it’s a safe bet to expect more from this team in the years to come.
My assessment: Frankly, Moser’s approach to creating timepieces inspired by its team partnership is one of my favorite out-of-the-box racing/watch takes. In the first year of its arrangement, its special Streamliner Alpine editions didn’t even include an expected chronograph function (later team-inspired Streamliners did, however).
This atypical approach, built on color, artfulness, technicality, and associations with drivers, mechanics, and crew, is downright refreshing in my book.
Visa Cash App Racing Bulls/Tudor
Helmed by drivers Liam Lawson (in 10th place on points) and Arvid Lindblad (at 11th), the Visa Cash App Racing Bulls team is currently in sixth place on this mid-season check.
Sixth is exactly where the team finished the 2025 season, although it celebrated one podium finish last year (at the Dutch Grand Prix with now-Red Bull team driver Isack Hadjar). But, overall, there is an indication of growing pains for the team, which rebooted/rebranded in 2024.
My assessment: While Tudor has created riffs on its Black Bay timepiece (chronos and non-chronos alike) since the partnership began in 2024, the results, while handsome, feel a bit uninspired. If the Racing Bulls team can’t break out of 6th place, some observers have started wondering how much longer this rolling, year-by-year partnership will continue.
Atlassian Williams F1 Team/Girard-Perregaux
Watchmaker Girard-Perregaux’s switch to sponsoring the Atlassian Williams F1 team when its previous 4-year contract with the Aston Martin F1 team ended this year has caused some thrashing towards the bottom of the current standings. That is because Williams drivers Alexander Albon and Carlos Sainz are currently tied at 15th place in points, with the team in 8th place currently.
My assessment: While G-P’s relationship with Aston Martin led to some very nice collaborative timepieces, this new situation is just too early to call. Let’s give it some time.
Aston Martin Aramco Formula One Team/Breitling
The announcement of Breitling becoming the watch sponsor for Aston Martin and its F1 team only hit this February, just as the inaugural Bahrain Grand Prix was kicking off.
Certainly, the watchmaker has beaucoup automotive and motorsports affinity, but the news came as a bit of a surprise, and the underwhelming performance of drivers Fernando Alonso (18th place in points) and Lance Stroll (22nd) puts Aston Martin’s team in 10th place currently (just one notch higher than the fledgling Cadillac F1 team at the bottom of the pack).
My assessment: If the Williams/Girard-Perregaux partnership is too early to call, then this multi-year Aston Martin/Breitling partnership is too early to even think about right now. That said, Breitling did release a promising collaborative timepiece when the partnership was announced earlier this year.
