Almost every Formula 1 team on the grid has a sponsorship with a major watchmaker like Red Bull with TAG Heuer, Ferrari with Richard Mille, and Alpine with Bell & Ross. If they aren’t in a partnership with a team, then they paired with drivers like Zhou Guanyu with Hublot. So watches are a large part of Formula 1 as timekeeping is a huge part of motor racing. But, in saying that, each driver still has their preferences within a brand’s catalogue, so let’s take a look at some of the drivers most worn pieces.
Some of these are partnerships with brands while some are from the driver’s personal collections.
Max Verstappen - TAG Heuer Monaco
Obviously, Red Bull have a partnership with TAG Heuer and as such Max Verstappen wears a variety of their pieces including a few Carreras and their Formula 1 pieces. But Verstappen’s favourite is undoubtedly the black Monaco.
This Monaco (ref. CBL2180.FC6497) costs A$13,050 (US$9,000) whose 39mm case is crafted in black titanium. Naturally for a race driver, it’s an automatic chronograph powered by the Calibre Heuer 02 with an 80-hour power reserve. The dial features 5N rose gold plating on the hands and indices as well as on the oscillating weight you can see through the exhibition caseback.
Sergio Perez – TAG Heuer Carrera Tourbillon ‘Sergio Perez’
Once again, Sergio Perez has all of TAG Heuer’s catalogue to choose from, but his most worn piece is the Carrera named after him. He was wearing this piece when he won the 79th Monaco Grand Prix in 2022 and several times afterwards.
Only two pieces were made, one for Perez and one that was auctioned to support the Checo Perez Foundation. The 45mm timepiece is made from Grade 2 titanium, coated with DLC, with a ceramic bezel and rose gold accents throughout. Powering this piece is the Heuer 02T.
Special additions include the “SP” marking on the dial as well as his motto “Never Give Up” engraved on the caseback. Here you’ll also find the date of Perez’s home race, the 2021 Mexican Grand Prix, on 7/11/21, where he nabbed a podium finish.
Lewis Hamilton – IWC Big Pilot’s Perpetual Calendar Top Gun Edition ‘Mojave Desert’
Mercedes are partners with IWC and Lewis Hamilton is a brand ambassador so no surprise that he’s often wearing some form of the IWC Big Pilot. His alleged favourite is the Perpetual Calendar Top Gun Edition ‘Mojave Desert’, according to the brand, but it’s appeared on his Instagram more than a few times if that means anything.
This 46.5mm watch has a sand-coloured ceramic case with a thickness of 15.5mm powered by the automatic Calibre 52615 with a massive 168 power reserve. The dial has displays for the date, day, month, year (in four digits), and perpetual moon phase for the northern and southern hemisphere. There’s a reason it’s so thick, and you can grab these for A$59,700 (US$40,900).
Charles Leclerc – Richard Mille RM 67-02 ‘Charles Leclerc’ Prototype
Charles Leclerc has been working with Richard Mille for over a decade at this point, even during Ferrari’s partnership with Hublot. Now that Ferrari are paired with Richard Mille, Leclerc can wear this proudly, or rather could as this piece was stolen from his wrist in Italy in April 2022.
Originally this watch was priced at around A$430,000 (US$320,000) though it was sold at a Christie’s for CHF 2,100,000. It’s crafted in white and red Quartz TPT to emulate the Monaco flag and provide exceptional shock resistance. Powering this is the Calibre CRMA7, a skeletonised automatic-winding movement with a 50-hour power reserve. It only weighs 35 grams thanks to the TPT composite, grade 5 titanium, and elastic wristband.
Nico Hulkenberg - Rolex Cosmograph Daytona
Haas don’t have a watch sponsor, so Nico Hulkenberg can wear whatever he wants, and it must be said that the man has taste because he’s gone with a gold Rolex Daytona.
It’s difficult to tell what year Hulkenberg’s Daytona is from but if it’s anything like the new models (it is), then we’re looking at a 40mm in yellow gold with a black and champagne-colour dial on an Oysterflex bracelet and a black Cerachrom bezel with tachymetric scale. These go for around A$45,400 (US$29,000).
Carlos Sainz – Richard Mille RM 67-02 ‘Alexander Zverev’
Carlos Sainz has been wearing Richard Mille pieces since his days at McLaren but most often what we see on his wrist is the RM 67-02 ‘Alexander Zverev’, probably because the colourway evokes the flag of Sainz’s home country, Spain.
This 38mm piece is made from Carbon Quartz TPT with the bridges and movement made from Grade 5 Titanium and forged carbon. Like Charles’s watch, this is very light weighing just 32 grams. These sold at retail for US$116,800 though it currently has an estimated market price of US$396,000.
Kevin Magnussen - Cyrus Klepcys Dice
Once upon a time, Haas did actually have a watch sponsor in Cyrus. Despite losing the sponsor, Kevin Magnussen still wears his Cyrus Klepcys Dice in black titanium. These feature an open-worked dial with blue and red colour details.
The “Dice” in the name stands for Double Independent Chronograph Evolution which you may have guessed means this piece has two separate chronographs that can measure time either independently or synchronised. These are limited to 50 pieces and retail for US$37,700.
George Russell – IWC Pilot’s Watch Chronograph Edition “Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One Team”
We don’t know if this is George Russell’s favourite watch or if he’s contractually obligated to wear this piece – perhaps it’s both? Regardless, he has been wearing this special edition Mercedes Pilot’s Watch during his stint at Mercedes.
The 41mm case is made from titanium with a height of 14.5mm. It has an exhibition caseback in which you can view the in-house Calibre 69385 movement with a 46-hour power reserve. The big difference when compared to other Pilot’s Chronographs is the Petronas blue on the strap, hands, and indices. These go for A$12,400 (US$8,350).
Pierre Gasly - Hublot Big Bang Unico King Gold Watch
Yes, Pierre Gasly wears Bell & Ross pieces when he’s on track since joining Alpine, but away from the track Gasly often wears Hublot pieces. A good example is the Hublot Big Bang Unico King Gold spotted on his wrist when he visited the home pitch of Paris Saint-Germain or during his stint at AlphaTauri where it seems he’s switched out the strap for a green one.
The 42mm case is made from 18k King Gold, a fusion of 5N 18k gold and platinum. Hublot have placed their in-house HUB1280 Unico movement inside with a robust 72-hour power reserve. These go for A$60,000 (US$39,900).
Daniel Ricciardo – Patek Philippe Aquanaut 5164R Travel Time
Daniel Ricciardo, like any other driver, wears pieces that his team is specifically sponsored by, but in contrast to his fellow drivers, Ricciardo has an extensive private collection. One that caught our eye was this Patek Philippe Aquanaut in 18k rose gold.
This piece features a brown embossed dial with gold applied numerals and a matching brown rubber strap. Powering the piece is the Calibre 26-330 S C FUS with a dual time zone mechanism that indicates either local or home time alongside a day/night indication. These retail for US$62,690 but have a market price of around $120,000.
Lance Stroll – Girard-Perregaux Laureato Absolute Chronograph
Once again, we don’t know if Lance Stroll is a watch guy or if he wears stunning pieces because he’s obligated to. Either way, it would make sense for Stroll to wear this because this Girard-Perregaux piece is made in close collaboration with Aston Martin, even going so far as to include actual components of Aston Martin’s F1 car.
The watch is limited to 306 pieces to symbolise the total distance both Aston drivers covered on race day at the 2022 British Grand Prix (5.891km x 52 laps). The dial features Aston Martin Racing Green with cross-hatching and lime coloured chronograph hands. The case is 44mm titanium and carbon and is powered by the Calibre GP03300 with a 46-hour power reserve. These are available for US$27,800.
Yuki Tsunoda – Swatch x Omega Moonswatch Mission to Pluto
AlphaTauri don’t have a watch partner so anything that Yuki Tsunoda is (probably) of his volition. Tsunoda is seen here wearing a Moonswatch, specifically the Mission to Pluto, and we have to wonder whether he waited in line for this himself.
The Moonswatch has been covered extensively by every outlet under the sun, but for those unaware, the Moonswatch is a quartz powered bioceramic Omega Speedmaster. The Mission to Pluto specifically has a burgundy and cream colourway and is retailing for US$260.
Valterri Bottas & Zhou Guanyu – Rebellion Re-Volt C43 ‘Valtteri Bottas’ and ‘Zhou Guanyu’
Both Alfa Romeo drivers have editions of Rebellion Timepieces Re-Volt C42. With Bottas’ in white, while Zhou Guanyu’s is red. They’re both virtually identical outside of their respective colourways.
Both 38.5mm watches are made from coloured carbon composite with both being designed with the drivers to evoke the colours of their home countries, red in the case of Guanyu (China) and white for Bottas (Finland). Each watch features a piece from their respective cars with each piece of carbon having a visible identification number attached to a sideplate on the case body while also bearing the name and number of each driver. Each are powered by a manual ”skeletonised property movement” with a 48-hour power reserve. These are each available for CHF 65,000.
In the case of Zhou, we know that he has a passion for watches and has been seen buying Hublot’s before having recently purchased a Spirit of Big Bang.
Fernando Alonso – Richard Mille RM67-02 ‘Fernando Alonso’
Fernando Alonso probably can’t wear his eponymous Richard Mille RM67-02 now that he’s with Aston Martin, but you’d want to wear the watch with your name on it right? Everything about this watch is the same or similar to the previous RM67-02s we’ve discussed excepting the colourway and price at US$160,000. Who knew that RM67-02s would be so popular amongst the drivers? Or does Richard Mille just have deep pockets?
Alex Albon & Logan Sargeant – Bremont WR-22 Chronograph
Once again, neither Alex Albon nor Logan Sargeant seem to wear watches outside of their brand sponsors. Albon used to wear TAG Heuer Formula 1s when he was with Red Bull, but nowadays he’s switched it for the Bremont WR-22 Chronograph.
Bremont are the Official Timing Partner to Williams Racing and so created their first racing inspired watch with the WR-22 Chronograph. This 43mm stainless steel watch incorporates a bi-directional tachymeter with a modified Calibre 13 ¼” BE-53AE Chronometer that beats at 4Hz with a 42-hour power reserve. These are currently available for A$9,750 (US$6,995).
Esteban Ocon – Bell & Ross BR-X1 A521
Alpine have their own collection of Bell & Ross pieces and Esteban Ocon was spotted wearing the BR-X1 A521 at Bahrain earlier this year. This piece features a skeletonised dial and a multi-material case combining Grade 5 titanium, ceramic, and rubber. Powering this piece is the in-house BR-CAL .313 that beats at 4Hz. All 50 pieces are spoken for with a retail price of A$29,900 (US$21,500).
Lando Norris & Oscar Piastri – Richard Mille RM 67-02 ‘Automatic Extra Flat’
Like Charles Leclerc, this watch was stolen from Norris in 2021, but he has since acquired a replacement with a black strap. While McLaren are sponsored by Richard Mille, it’s clear that Norris wears his pieces off the track (something the thieves were surely rapturous to discover). There’s nothing to add about this piece that hasn’t been discussed previously with a price tag of CHF 151,000.
Oscar Piastri wears the same watch on a green strap.
