Formula 1 and watchmaking have been tangled up together for decades, and the connection runs deeper than a logo on a car. Nearly every team on the current grid has an official watch partner, several drivers hold personal ambassador roles on top of that, and the sport itself has a long history with Swiss watchmaking at the highest level. Here's a look at what's actually showing up on drivers' wrists this season.
The Sport's Official Timekeeper
Before getting into individual drivers, it's worth noting who's behind the timing itself. TAG Heuer returned as Formula 1's official timekeeper in 2025, part of a broader partnership between the sport and TAG Heuer's parent company, LVMH. That role puts TAG Heuer branding across timing systems, trackside clocks, and broadcast graphics throughout every race weekend, continuing a relationship with motorsport that traces back to the 1960s.
Team Watch Partnerships
Most of the current grid's watch presence comes down to a handful of brands holding official team contracts. Richard Mille supplies both Ferrari and McLaren, TAG Heuer supplies Oracle Red Bull Racing in addition to its sport-wide timekeeping role, and IWC has partnered with Mercedes-AMG Petronas since 2013 as the team's official engineering partner. Together, those four teams account for a significant share of the grid's official watch presence.
Beyond that top tier, Aston Martin brought on Breitling as its official watch partner for the 2026 season, with models like the Navitimer B01 Chronograph in an Aston Martin edition drawing on the brand's motorsport heritage. Alpine's official partner is the independent Swiss watchmaker H. Moser & Cie., known for minimalist dials and an unconventional approach to marketing that stands out from the more traditional motorsport watch brands. Williams signed with Girard-Perregaux as its official watch partner in early 2026, after its previous partnership with Aston Martin ended. And Racing Bulls' driver lineup has been associated with Tudor, including the Black Bay Chrono in its classic panda dial color scheme.
Personal Ambassadorships Beyond the Team Deal
Some drivers carry watch relationships that exist independently of their team's official partner, often tied to personal brand deals rather than team sponsorship.
Fernando Alonso is a notable example. He's a personal ambassador for Richard Mille, associated with models like the RM67-02 and RM47, and his relationship with the brand has included collaborative pieces that reflect his own personal style rather than a team-level arrangement.
Pierre Gasly, driving for Alpine, became H. Moser & Cie.'s first personal driver ambassador after the brand's partnership with Alpine Motorsports began. That relationship has produced dedicated pieces, including a limited-run Streamliner Tourbillon model released under his name.
Kimi Antonelli has been associated with IWC, particularly the Pilot's Watch Mark XX, fitting alongside Mercedes' existing team relationship with the brand.
Esteban Ocon became a personal ambassador for the Swiss haute horology brand Bianchet at the start of the 2025 season, wearing pieces including the Bianchet B 1.618 Flying Tourbillon GMT.
Not every driver has a personal watch deal in place. Several drivers on the current grid, including some rookies and less commercially established names, haven't signed dedicated watch ambassadorships, relying instead on whatever presence comes through their team's official partnership, if any.
Why Watches and F1 Fit So Naturally
The pairing makes sense on a few levels. Chronographs, watches built with stopwatch functions, have deep roots in motorsport timing, going back to an era before electronic timing systems existed. That shared history gives brands a genuine heritage story to tell rather than a purely commercial one. Beyond that, F1 offers watch brands global visibility, a built-in audience that already values precision engineering, and drivers whose personal brands align naturally with the kind of performance-driven, detail-obsessed image most watchmakers want to project.
For the drivers themselves, these partnerships are also just good business, often bringing exclusive access to limited pieces, collaborative designs, or fully custom watches most collectors will never have the chance to own.
The Bottom Line
Watching Formula 1 closely enough, you start noticing the wrists as much as the cars: TAG Heuer's timing presence across every race, Richard Mille on Ferrari and McLaren garages, IWC tied to Mercedes, and a growing list of personal ambassador deals layered on top. It's a reminder that the connection between watchmaking and motorsport isn't just nostalgic marketing. It's an active, evolving relationship that changes every season, right alongside the grid itself.