How Formula One became the ultimate playground for the world's leading watchmakers

The Formula One season so far suggests there is a buzz around the sport this year, with several drivers seriously contending for the championship in what is the competition's 75th anniversary season.

American entertainment group Liberty Media, which acquired Formula One Group for $4.6 billion in 2017, set out to modernise the sport and boost fan engagement by expanding the race calendar.

Under its ownership, Netflix launched the global hit Drive to Survive; and this June, F1: The Movie, the Brad Pitt-led film about the fictional APX GP racing team (co-produced by Lewis Hamilton), will release on Apple TV+.

All of this has raised the sport’s global profile and attracted major corporate partners, including LVMH, which reportedly signed a $1 billion, 10-year sponsorship deal in October.

The watch world has long been enamoured with F1. Jack Heuer was the first to put a logo on a Formula One car, sponsoring Jo Siffert’s Lotus in 1969. By 1971, Heuer had struck a partnership with Ferrari. By then, Heuer’s square-case Monaco watch had gained fame after Steve McQueen wore it in the 1971 film Le Mans, adding racing glamour to the brand.

In 1986, Techniques d’Avant Garde (Tag) acquired Heuer and went on to sponsor the McLaren team, backing famous drivers Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost.

As of 2025, Tag Heuer’s name is linked to 239 victories, 15 World Drivers’ Championships and 11 World Constructors’ Championships, most recently with Oracle Red Bull and Max Verstappen. This year, Tag Heuer (now owned by LVMH) returns as Official Timekeeper, a title it last held between 1992 and 2003.

To mark the occasion, Tag Heuer released nine Formula One Solargraph models, reflecting the pit lane clock design and available in playful colours at an entry-level price point (about Dh8,000). Two minutes of exposure to light powers each watch for a full day.

Meanwhile, Verstappen has been spotted wearing the headline-grabbing Monaco Split-Seconds Chronograph/F1 in white ultralight ceramic, featuring an advanced split-seconds movement.

It’s a major statement for Tag Heuer. “Today, Formula One stands as a global phenomenon that transcends genders, generations and borders, much like Tag Heuer itself,” noted chief executive Antoine Pin at Geneva’s Watches & Wonders in April.

He described it as the brand’s biggest communication investment to date, adding: “This renewed partnership presents an extraordinary platform to showcase the maison’s expertise in precision timing.”

Watches and racing cars inherently share values – precision engineering, cutting-edge technology and avant-garde materials. Engineers at the Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 team and IWC Schaffhausen regularly collaborate, notably this year on the Big Pilot’s Watch Shock Absorber XPL Toto Wolff Edition, named after the Mercedes team’s media-friendly boss.

Designed to withstand the forces of F1 racing, the watch features the patented Spring-g Protect shock absorber system, which protects the movement even under high impacts, akin to the G-forces endured in a crash at 320kph. F1 cars can experience up to 5g at circuits such as Silverstone, but the Big Pilot’s ethos is rooted in aviation, where fighter jets endure up to 9g.

Meanwhile, Richard Mille occupies a rare position, sponsoring two rival teams – Scuderia Ferrari and McLaren. Charles Leclerc wears the RM 67-02 Italy, while Lewis Hamilton, newly signed to Ferrari, now sports the RM 74-02 Automatic Tourbillon, after years of wearing IWC at Mercedes.

Engineers from Ferrari and Richard Mille, whose partnership began in 2021, recently collaborated on the RM 43-01, launched in March. Featuring an aerodynamic case profile and Ferrari’s signature rear-light-inspired pushers, it also boasts a next-generation split-seconds chronograph movement. The titanium version is priced at Dh5 million and the carbon TPT version at nearly Dh6 million, and each is limited to 75 pieces.

The relationship between Richard Mille and Ferrari began through brand ambassador Charles Leclerc. “When we saw the previous partnership with Ferrari had finished, we saw an occasion for a discussion,” says Alexandre Mille, who co-leads the brand with his sister, Amanda, and Maxime Guenat following Richard Mille’s retirement. “Ferrari was super-happy to start.”

Ferrari wanted exclusivity, but Richard Mille insisted on maintaining its long-standing partnership with McLaren, which has been in place since 2016. Their fourth collaboration, the 500-piece RM 65-01 McLaren Automatic Split-Seconds Chronograph W1, draws design cues from McLaren’s most powerful and radical road car to date, the W1. Race-winner Oscar Piastri wore this watch on the podiums in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, while teammate Lando Norris sports the RM 67-02.

Elsewhere in the paddock, several other watch brands are making moves. H Moser & Cie and Tudor entered the F1 scene two years ago, partnering with BWT Alpine and Visa Cash App Red Bull (aka Racing Bulls), respectively. Returning for a fourth year is Girard-Perregaux, which partners with Aston Martin Aramco.

Though the team has had a chequered history, new investment and energy from owner Lawrence Stroll have spurred momentum. Girard-Perregaux’s Laureato Absolute Aston Martin F1 Edition features a 44mm titanium case and the same green livery as the Aston Martin race cars, with design details inspired by the famous DB12.

“It’s our first dive into the finely tuned world of Formula One,” says Edouard Meylan, chief executive and co-owner of H Moser & Cie, who chose the flagship Streamliner collection for the partnership with Alpine last year, producing a version of its Cylindrical Tourbillon with a skeletonised main dial at 12 o’clock topped with a small domed dial in blue.

“Since the beginning of this adventure, H Moser & Cie’s visibility has accelerated at the speed of a race car. Drive to Survive has thrown the spotlight on F1 in a whole new way, turning the paddocks into a playground for a generation hungry for adrenalin and storytelling,” says Meylan.

Playful with colours, a pink version to match Alpine’s blue-pink livery was later added at the Miami Grand Prix. This, Meylan points out, “speaks a language Gen Z understands – boldness, fun and reinterpretation of traditional watchmaking. All elements that speak to the aesthetes of tomorrow.”

Driving for Racing Bulls, rookies Liam Lawson and Isack Hadjar sport Tudor’s Black Bay Ceramic “Blue” edition, exemplifying the brand’s “Born to Dare” ethos. “Tudor has always been fuelled by a daring spirit, a consistent will to do things differently,” says the brand's chief executive Eric Pirson, adding he is “beyond thrilled to return to motorsport with a partner that’s ready to take on the challenge”.