One racing superstar sports a watch that’s worth $1,063,000 or more than P50 million.
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The French Grand Prix, the seventh race weekend of the 2021 Formula 1 season, has just concluded last weekend. Belgian-Dutch Max Verstappen triumphed over rival British Lewis Hamilton by almost three seconds and secured a lead in the championship standings.
As usual, the competition showcased an exciting race, with drivers showing off their cars at full speed.
But cars are not the only star of race day weekends. In fact, the tournament’s long history has shown the involvement of sponsors like oil companies, champagne manufacturers, cigarette brands, electronics manufacturers, and the never-absent luxury watches. These timepieces are particularly noticeable as it is the only accessory drivers wear with their overalls pre- or post-race.
The question is, from the many that can be worn, which luxury watches do drivers choose to wear? We’ve rounded it all up in this list.
Lewis Hamilton
Though obviously sponsored and required to wear the brand’s watches, Hamilton favors IWC Watches.
Multiple times, even off the race track, Hamilton’s wrist has been seen with only watches from IWC, specifically his favorite, The Big Pilot (starts at $10,000). He even co-created an edition of this ($62,700) named after him in 2019. Most recently, he starred in a campaign introducing various editions of the said model.
Valterri Bottas
A teammate of Hamilton, Bottas also loves his Big Pilot (starts at $10,000), but prefers its more casual editions. He wears one with a hint of blue on the strap, a likely reference to his home country, Finland.
As of late, he can be seen wearing smart watches for sports from Polar Watches (starts at $229.95) at the race track, when he trains at the gym, or even when he cycles for fun.
Charles Leclerc
Richard Mille is the luxury watch Leclerc goes for. He’s such a fan of the watchmaker that he frequently wears them, whether on the race track or not. During the Monaco Grand Prix qualifications, the Ferrari driver sported the Richard Mille RM 67-02 ($122,000), a unique prototype of the lightest automatic of the watchmaker.
Max Verstappen
Red Bull Racing driver Verstappen opts for his team’s long-time partner TAG Heuer for his luxury timepiece choices. At the French Grand Prix where he finished third, he wore a custom TAG Heuer Monaco Titan Special Edition ($7,900 for the regular edition).
Alexander Albon
TAG Heuer is a favorite for Thai racer Albon as well. Prior to last year’s Imola Grand Prix, the Ferrari driver wore the latest model of Carrera Chronograph ($8,300), a more refined and modern take on the watchmaker’s classic.
Lando Norris
British-Belgian Norris relies on Richard Mille for his watches on the track. In the recent French Grand Prix where he finished fifth, the McLaren Racing team member wore a Richard Mille 67-02 Sebastien Ogier ($120,000).
Carlos Sainz
Just like Norris, Spaniard Sainz prefers Richard Mille for his watches. True enough, when he won the recent Monaco Grand Prix, the Ferrari driver was seen wearing what appears to be a custom Richard Mille 011 ($110,000).
Kimi Raikkonen
Richard Mille watches are a go-to for Finnish Raikkonen, whether on or off the race track.
The Alfa Romeo Racing driver is also the only Richard Mille-backed driver to collaborate on a unique design with the watchmaker: an Alfa Romeo-themed timepiece ($1,063,000) with only a total of 30 pieces ever made.
Banner Photo from @ValterriBottas on Instagram
