This is Issue 3 of On the Road and with the Formula 1 season now well underway, it’s a good moment to take stock of what this year’s crop of drivers is wearing on their wrists. Let’s face it: that’s often a bit more interesting than what happens on track – although recently it seems that not everything has gone Max Verstappen’s way.
Never mind: at Red Bull, the association with TAG Heuer means that he and Sergio Perez get to wear one of the most iconic watches of them all: the Monaco – now available as a skeletonised version for the first time. The TAG Heuer Monaco Chronograph Skeleton can be had in both blue and DLC black, costing just under £10,000.
TAG Heuer Monaco Chronograph Skeleton. Credit: TAG Heuer.
Their Mercedes rivals are backed by IWC, and this is going to be the final year that Lewis Hamilton enjoys wearing one as he’ll be headed to Ferrari next year. So let’s celebrate the IWC Portugieser Tourbillon Rétrograde Chronograph Lewis Hamilton Edition while it’s still relevant. In Petronas turquoise it really stands out, featuring a platinum case that houses IWC’s calibre 89900 automatic movement. This is the third watch that IWC have produced together with the multiple champion, and it retails for around £135,000: definitely a price tag fit for heroes.
Lewis Hamilton sporting IWC Portugieser Tourbillon Rétrograde Chronograph Lewis Hamilton Edition. Credit: IWC.
So what can Hamilton look forward when he gets to Ferrari next year? The clue lies in what this year’s Ferrari drivers are wearing: the world’s thinnest automatic wristwatch in the form of the Richard Mille RM UP-01 Ferrari. At just 1.75 millimetres thick, yet with a traditional construction, this titanium watch can be yours for just over £1.5 million pounds – so it might actually be cheaper to buy your own F1 car and a Casio digital to go with it.
Best of the rest is another Richard Mille-backed team, McLaren. In their honour, the watchmaker has produced the Richard Mille RM 67-02 McLaren in carbon composite, which is worth a much more modest £120,000 or so. It’s known as Richard Mille’s sportiest watch and has been seen in combination with a number of funkily-coloured straps on the wrists of McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri.
Aston Martin is also fighting for a place on the top table in Formula 1, and they’ve certainly managed to snare a premier division watch partner in Girard-Perregaux. A number of distinct racing green watches have been created to mark the association, such as the latest Laureato Absolute Chronograph Aston Martin, which actually contains parts of the Formula 1 car. Just 306 examples of this rather chunky 44mm piece are being made (being the distance in kilometres of the British Grand Prix), and the watch is on sale for just over £22,000.
Laureato Absolute Chronograph Aston Martin. Credit: Girard-Perregaux.
Now we get to a couple of really interesting partnerships. Alpine has partnered with H. Moser & Cie, so on the wrists of the all-French line-up of Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly, you’ll find the Streamliner Flyback Chronograph. This is where the worlds of rail and racing meet, being inspired by American trains from the golden age, and they look like nothing else. The blue fume dial matches the colour of the car, and the watch is for sale at a shade under £40,000. Expect some Alpine-themed special editions to be introduced during the year.
Streamliner Flyback Chronograph. Credit: Alpine.
Red Bull’s sister team, which rejoices in the snappy name of Visa Cashapp RB Formula One team arguably has the best watch partner of all in Tudor. Who doesn’t love a Black Bay? Especially when it has bright blue dial that nobody has properly seen yet – which will form the basis of a limited edition in future. We know that it has a lightweight ceramic construction and 41mm of diameter – and it should be a watch that is reasonably financially accessible. The current Black Bay Ceramic costs £4,420.
Daniel Ricciardo sporting unknown F1 x Tudor Black Bay Ceramic. Credit: Mediaworld.
And then, we get to a few teams who are currently missing a watch partner. Williams used to have a deal with Bremont, but that has now drawn to a close, which is exactly what happened with their previous partner: Oris. We’ve got no idea who Williams will snare next, but in their place I would definitely go for Hamilton – not just because the khaki mechanical field watch is one of my personal favourites, but just for the sheer mischief of putting out an official press release entitled “Williams signs Hamilton in new long-term partnership.”
Then there’s Sauber, which used to have Rebellion (and technically still does, because the Rebellion logo is still on the car and the drivers happily wear their Predator S and Re-Volt watches – complete with green straps to match the car’s striking new colour scheme). But there’s only one small snag, which is that Rebellion isn’t making watches anymore, so to secure one you have to go second hand: the Re-Volt can be found from £30,000, the Predator for a lot less.
Sauber Car sporting the Rebellion logo. Credit: Mediaworld.
Finally, there’s Haas, which started the year without a watch partner but is apparently about to announce one shortly, despite spending more time at the back of the grid rather than the front. Nobody knows who it is yet, but it would be funny if it were Studio Underdog….
