Sometimes, things come together in a way that feels almost prophetic. Days after IWC held its pop-event to celebrate all the watches it has created with Lewis Hamilton in Formula 1 over the last decade, guess who goes on to win his first grand prix in more than two years? At home in Silverstone of all places?
Yes, the legend that is Lewis Hamilton, in what was probably the most thrilling race seen for years. Lewis himself even dropped in on the Battersea event a few days before his last British Grand Prix with Mercedes and IWC – as he’s off to Ferrari next year, which means that he will inevitably end up wearing a Richard Mille.
The irony is that these hyper-exclusive watches have become more or less part of the uniform for a successful Formula 1 driver recently: McLaren has a Richard Mille sponsorship too, Romain Grosjean had Formula 1’s biggest crash wearing one a few years ago in Bahrain, and just check out the wrist of Sky F1 commentator Martin Brundle when you next see him on air. Yes, that would be a Richard Mille ‘black panther’.
Sometimes, it feels like the only person who hasn’t got a Richard Mille in Formula 1 is me. But do you know what? I really don’t mind. In Formula 1, they now feel about as ubiquitous as a Casio digital in a playground, which I guess goes to show that there’s definitely such a thing as too much success. After Rolex, Richard Mille is actually the brand that spends the most money in F1 – but more about that later.
An IWC still feels somehow classier, however Hamilton’s wristwear probably wasn’t at the forefront of his mind during the most recent contract negotiations (although it should have been). If I were a Formula 1 driver, for example, I’d definitely sign for Alpine as I’d love to design a limited-edition Moser. The Alpine team isn’t doing too well at the moment, so a bonus is that I’d also have more time to admire my personalised watch while waiting for the recovery truck. Or taking the long walk back to the pits.
If it’s not a Richard Mille you’re seen with in the F1 paddock, then it’s a TAG Heuer, and the brand was out in force with its brand ambassadors at the British Grand Prix as well. These included golfer Tommy Fleetwood, actor Kit Connor, Rugby Union player Owen Farrell, broadcaster Jeanette Kwayke and actor Ben Hardy. Oh, and some bloke called Max Verstappen, who finished second in the race behind Hamilton.
One of the hot rumours doing the rounds at the moment is that TAG Heuer might even take over the headline sponsorship of Formula 1 from Rolex soon. The brand’s association with motorsport goes all the way back to the 1960s, when company founder Jack Heuer not only befriended a couple of leading F1 drivers but even turned them into travelling salesmen by offering them commissions on any watches they sold to fellow drivers. This, my friends, is how you recruit staff and build a brand. Now, TAG Heuer CEO Frederic Arnaud has gone back to the company’s roots:
“A lot of our investment was going into other sports and entertainment partnerships,” he said recently. “We decided we would concentrate our investment into motor sports, and particularly Formula 1.”
One thing is for sure; that investment to secure that title sponsorship would need to be considerable. Things have moved on a lot since Longines made the first timing deal with F1 in 1982, for the princely sum of $500,000. These days, it’s estimated that what Rolex spends on F1 is more in the region of $50M.
Incidentally, that deal was originally brokered by none other than Sir Jackie Stewart, who has been a Rolex brand ambassador since 1968. Now aged 85, Sir Jackie is still out on the grand prix circuit, hosting Rolex guests at many of the races. Such is the attention to detail that he even has his corporate shirt tailored to have a slightly shorter left sleeve compared to the right, to show off his Rolex more effectively.
As a testimonial for any watch brand in motorsport, there’s nobody better. And that’s why, personally speaking, I hope Rolex stays.
