The F1 Teams and their watch sponsors

The official timekeeper of the F1: Rolex

Since December 2012 Rolex has been the official timepiece sponsor of the Formula 1. The brand Rolex is widely presented at, and around the racetracks in the F1. The big Rolex starting clock with the ‘Fluted Bezel’ is probably the most distinctive piece you see Rolex represented with. Rolex has multi-year agreement with the Formula 1 with different elements to it. As mentioned, Rolex provides timing equipment and clocks for the races. The logo is also prominently displayed on trackside advertisements. Because of this deal, Rolex benefits from extensive brand exposure through television broadcasts of all these races, as well through other media coverage of this sport.

The Racing teams and their Watch Sponsors

Almost all the racing teams that are active in the F1 have their own watch sponsor, with some racing drivers even having their own designated watch. Let’s take a look at the starting grid!

TAG Heuer - Red Bull Racing

The Red Bull Racing team is sponsored by the watch brand Tag Heuer. This brand has a long lasting history in the motorsport and somehow ended up on the wrists of Max Verstappen, Sergio Perez and their reserve driver Daniel Ricciardo. They have already been the sponsor of the team since 2016 and have been seen on the wrist of many Grand Prix winners and even a multiple time Formula 1 World Champion! 

Richard Mille – McLaren & Ferrari

Richard Mille has only been around since 2001, but is a well-known sponsor of the teams McLaren and Ferrari. Richard Mille has produced a number of watches to commemorate this partnership. For instance, the RM50-03 ‘McLaren’. This is a typical Richard Mille watch with a carbon fibre case and a colour scheme which matches the McLaren F1 Team's. In the year 2021 Ferrari parted with their sponsor Hublot, which made place for the brand Richard Mille. There are some very exclusive pieces produced because of this partnership. The most infamous watch is probably the RM UP-01 Ferrari. This is the thinnest watch ever produced, with a thickness nothing more than 1.75mm!

IWC Schaffhausen – Mercedes

IWC is the proud partner of the Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Racing team. They commemorate this partnership with some very appealing watches that are often well presented on the starting grid. Let’s start with the watch we often see on the wrist of their number 1 driver Lewis Hamilton. As of late, that would be the IWC Ingenieur Chronograph Lewis Hamilton Edition. It is an automatic watch with a diameter of 45mm and some sportsy design features to complement the driver. In 2020 IWC produced the IWC Pilots Automatic 36 George Russell Edition. It’s a sporty chronograph often seen on a white rubber strap.

Girard-Perregaux – Aston Martin

While Girard-Perregaux is not that widely presented on the wrists of enthusiasts, with the collaboration with Aston Martin F1 team they hit the sweet spot of sportiness and elegance. They produced a Sporty variation of the so-called Laureato series. This piece ended up to be a sporty chronograph on a canvas strap called the Girard-Perregaux Laureato Absolute. It is constructed of race-ready carbon-titanium alloy and come’s in Aston Martin’s signature green colourway.

H. Moser & Cie – Alpine Motosports

With Alpine formerly racing with watches from Bell & Ross on their wrist, the 2024 season has started with an other watchbrand on their wrists. This is not just a watchbrand, it is H. Moser & Cie. This brand is already producing watches since 1828, and is therefore one of the oldest Swiss watchbrands around. They are known for their small-scale releases with exquisite craftsmanship. An example of this is their Swiss Alp watch. This is a watch made to look like an apple watch, which runs on an in-house hand-crafted tourbuillon movement. The watch that the Ocon and Gasly will be wearing is probably the H. Moser & Cie Streamliner Perpetual Calendar priced at close to €50.000!

Tudor - Visa Cash App RB (AlphaTauri)

With the teamname of AlphaTauri changing to Visa Cash App RB, they also decided to get together with a new watchsponsor. This is the brand Tudor, that has already previously been a sponsor in the Formula 1. There were loads of speculations around the specific watch that Ricciardo and Tsunoda would be wearing in 2024. The watch that they will be wearing is a Tudor Black Bay Ceramic Chronometer with a beautiful dial.

Brands who parted with the F1

Unfortunately we have lost some well-known watch brands at the F1 trackside. Let’s start with Hublot. Their partnership with Scuderia Ferrari ended in 2021, and unfortunately, we have not seen them collaborating with any other F1 Racing team at this moment. Oris has produced a great number of watches, because of their partnership with the F1 team Williams Racing. In 2018 Oris could unfortunately not sponsor the F1 anymore because their focus shifted to environmental conservation. A little bit longer ago, Tissot has sponsored the F1 Team Lotus. This had some great drivers like Nigel Mansel and Mario Adretti wearing Tissot’s between 1979 and 1982. 

The future

Most of the Formula 1 teams have a multi-year contract with their sponsors, but there are still some teams that don’t have a watch brand as official sponsor at this time. Haas doesn’t have a sponsorship with a watch brand at this moment, so we are looking forward to seeing what the future might bring for these teams. We also hope that the watch brands that are partnered with some great F1 teams keep developing new and collectible watches for their collaboration.

If you want to find out more about the F1 Teams and their watchsponsors as of today, make sure you take a look at the following articles!