Every Watch Brand Sponsorship For The 2025 Formula 1 Season

It’s my favorite and, I’m sure, many of our readers’ most anticipated time of the year — the start of the Formula 1 season. Even with a record 24 Grand Prix races last year and six Sprint races preceding the main event, the winter break felt long. Also, 2025 marks the 75th anniversary of the first F1 world championship season in 1950, which had its first race at Silverstone Circuit in the UK. Grand Prix racing existed before 1950 but not as a world drivers’ championship as it is now. Formula 1 held a pre-season event at London’s O2 Arena to celebrate this milestone, with all teams showing off liveries for the upcoming season. The event was perhaps a bit too flashy and cringe for the Formula 1 diehards, but it reflected the massive uptick in popularity the sport has garnered since Liberty Media took the reins in 2017.

With all the teams presenting their car designs for the season, it’s also an opportunity to showcase their corporate sponsorships. That’s where this article comes in handy, to discuss the watch brands sponsoring each constructor. There are three teams without timing partners, but as the first F1 race is due to start, the teams may still announce new partnerships. I’ll focus more on the teams with current agreements and weigh in with my hot takes on the suitability of the collaboration.

Formula 1 Global Partner and Official Timekeeper — TAG Heuer (since 2025)

The most significant change for 2025 has to be the shift from Rolex to TAG Heuer as the overall timing partner. While the new deal is that LVMH is the Global Partner of Formula 1 for the next 10 years, bringing Louis Vuitton, Moët & Chandon, and Hennessy along for the ride, TAG Heuer is the Official Timekeeper of Formula 1. Rolex relinquishing its crown as timekeeper for the world’s premier motorsport was a big announcement that we covered here. Although surprising, TAG Heuer’s return is a natural fit for F1 and its history.

Heuer established the process for officiating timekeeping in the 1970s. Before Heuer, timing officials still relied on stopwatches. Reliance on human reaction times leaves the door wide open for errors. The Heuer-developed Automatic Car Identification Timing System (or ACIT) from 1974 uses a transponder on each car that signals at the start/finish line and sectors around the track. This level of impartiality served its purpose and is still used in principle today. Following a stint of Longines holding the role in the 1980s, the rebranded TAG Heuer returned as Official Timekeeper in the 1990s. Hublot took over in the 2000s before Rolex served as F1’s Official Timekeeper from 2013 to 2024.

Former CEO Frédéric Arnault exclaimed that football and Manchester United were TAG Heuer’s largest marketing expenditure. Yet, when surveying its customers, football was nowhere near the top 10 activities associated with TAG Heuer. Therefore, it is good to see the brand back in this role, with only the Red Bull team and the Monaco Grand Prix having previously been TAG’s foothold in F1. As Official Timekeeper, TAG Heuer has a set of responsibilities similar to Omega at the Olympics. The timing equipment must be maintained and cross-examined to ensure consistency and accuracy.

It’s lights out, and away we go

The list below is in order of each team’s 2024 constructors’ championship standings. The list also features the team name (specifically, the name of the chassis) per the FIA 2025 F1 team entry list. You’ll also get my hot takes on each team and watch brand associations to see whether they fit.

McLaren — Richard Mille (since 2016)

McLaren enjoyed tremendous success in the 2024 season, having reclaimed the constructor’s championship for the first time since 1998. While the team earned enough points to claim the title in 2007, the “Spygate” scandal deducted the entirety of the team’s points, placing McLaren plumb last in the rankings. There was fierce competition on the track last year, with McLaren having claimed the title with six race wins and multiple podiums between its two drivers. British-Flemish driver Lando Norris scored four wins, and Aussie Oscar Piastri reached the top step twice. This excellent return to form starkly contrasts the early seasons of this V6 turbo-hybrid era 10 years ago. McLaren’s drivers are now front-runners to claim the title again for 2025, with Lando Norris being the favorite as we enter the new season.

Richard Mille is nearing its 10-year milestone with McLaren. There have been many collaborative limited editions, the most recent being the RM 65-01 Automatic Split-Seconds Chronograph McLaren W1. This technical tour de force has a lightweight, shock-resistant carbon TPT case with a skeletonized split-second chronograph mechanism. The watch is limited to 500 pieces and costs US$388,000. For context, the base price of McLaren Automotive’s entry-level GTS car is US$224,400. While Richard Mille produces precision instruments matching the high-end carmaker, the price points surpass the average F1 fan.

Hot take: Richard Mille’s namesake founder is an avid motorsport fan and often visits the paddock alongside F1 racers. With the McLaren partnership, Richard Mille can now celebrate peak performances with future lightweight and technical timepieces similar to McLaren’s race machines.

Charles Leclerc — Image: Ferrari Media Center

Ferrari — Richard Mille (since 2021)

Wait, didn’t I mention Richard Mille? That’s right; Richard Mille has been the timing partner for two Formula 1 teams since 2021. And they’re not just any teams either as Ferrari and McLaren have always been fierce rivals since McLaren joined the sport in the ’60s. Ferrari has an eclectic history with many watch brands, which you can read about here. The sporting greatness of Ferrari is a primary factor for why nabbing a sponsorship contract is a huge pull. In 2021, Richard Mille joined to replace Hublot, which held the watch deal with Ferrari for 10 years. Richard Mille has since created incredible timepieces with Ferrari co-branding. The Richard Mille RM UP-01 Ferrari is a record-breaking watch just 1.75mm thick with the prancing-horse logo emblazoned on the front.

Ferrari is now embarking on a championship campaign with a new driver. And he’s not just any driver, mind you, but seven-time world champion Sir Lewis Hamilton. The 40-year-old champion spent over a decade with Mercedes and achieved a staggering 84 race wins. Now, despite his age, Hamilton is hungrier than ever for a new challenge and to build on his legacy. The last time Ferrari had a seven-time champion in the team was the great Michael Schumacher, who left Ferrari after the 2006 season.

Hot take: While the already-iconic image of Hamilton outside Enzo Ferrari’s home went viral, Richard Mille will be quick to further capitalize on Hamilton’s fame and popularity. Ferrari has a long legacy, but the Italian marque always strives for innovation. This is a characteristic shared with Richard Mille, and hopefully, this Swiss brand can lean on Hamilton’s unique style and create something special.

Red Bull Racing — TAG Heuer (since 2016)

Red Bull faces a challenging season ahead. Although Dutch driver Max Verstappen achieved his fourth consecutive drivers’ world championship last year, the team landed third in the constructor’s championship. This is mostly due to Sergio Pérez, Red Bull’s underperforming second driver, who is now retiring from the sport. However, it also shows the improvements other teams have made to catch up and overtake Red Bull. Red Bull is also without Adrian Newey, its longtime chief designer. Newey is revered as F1’s greatest and most successful designer and leaves a gap in Red Bull’s aerodynamic design arm. With 12 constructors’ and 13 drivers’ titles, Newey takes his expertise to Aston Martin to rejuvenate its championship hopes after a disappointing 2024 season.

The TAG Heuer partnership began in 2016 when driver Max Verstappen replaced Daniil Kvyat mid-season. Verstappen has become a four-time world champion (2021–24) and matched former Red Bull driver Sebastian Vettel’s championship tally in consecutive years. Last year, I predicted Tudor would take over the TAG Heuer sponsor duties. My reasoning boils down to Tudor acting as the official timekeeper for the sister team, Racing Bulls. However, with TAG Heuer providing F1’s official timekeeper role, I was dubious about TAG continuing both partnerships. Despite this, Red Bull extends its timing sponsor with TAG Heuer. Let’s hope the watch brand capitalizes on Max Verstappen’s success with exciting releases — something lacking in previous years, as Lex went into here.

Hot take: I am surprised Tudor didn’t pick up the baton from TAG Heuer and build on its deal with Racing Bulls and sailing team Alinghi Red Bull Racing. However, TAG Heuer is on top of it and already building on its new Formula 1 collection with the Oracle Red Bull Racing edition.

Mercedes — IWC Schaffhausen (since 2013)

Mercedes is one of the most dominant teams in the last decade of F1. However, in the past few seasons, performance has fluctuated. Despite the relatively unchanged car, a challenging aerodynamic package has provided surprise 1-2 results alongside middle-of-the-pack frustrations. Slight temperature fluctuations or different track profiles can push the balance in the wrong or right direction, seemingly without reason. Hopefully, Mercedes can get on top of its aero balance and make the most of its venerable V6 turbo-hybrid that also powers three other teams. Next season, Mercedes will power half the grid as Alpine switches from in-house Renault engines to Mercedes.

Another balance shift is the team’s star driver moving to Ferrari in 2025. In his place is young rookie driver Andrea Antonelli. Given the need for young drivers to bed themselves into backmarker teams before producing top-level results, it is a surprising choice for such an established team. Mercedes is, therefore, making a huge bet, with multiple race-winner George Russell filling in as the experienced driver with plenty of promise for championship success. IWC has been the watch sponsor since 2013 and is sticking with Mercedes this year. With fresh and exciting talent debuting at the team, IWC can bring a youthful exuberance to its collection. The collaboration shows no signs of waning as IWC has already launched the Big Pilot’s Watch Shock Absorber XPL Toto Wolff × Mercedes to celebrate the Austrian team principal.

Hot take: With the IWC and Mercedes collaboration now being the longest in the current F1 grid, this sponsorship feels natural to continue even with a new driver lineup.

Aston Martin Aramco — Girard-Perregaux (since 2021)

Aston Martin continued its partnership with Girard-Perregaux for 2025 and announced an extension beyond this season last year. The team made its F1 comeback in 2021 when Canadian investment mogul Lawrence Stroll took over the British icon. After two shaky seasons, 2023 started brilliantly, especially with Spanish legend Fernando Alonso behind the wheel. Alonso achieved six podium finishes in the first eight races. Aston Martin’s results dipped in the middle of the season, but the team returned to the podium toward the end. However, 2024 was rough for the team, lacking podium positions or standout performances. Despite finishing best of the rest behind the top four teams, the point delta between Aston and Mercedes was greater than in the previous season.

Yet, with renewed hopes thanks to the arrival of veteran chief designer Adrian Newey, Aston Martin has good aspirations. While Newey’s recent arrival is too soon to impact the current campaign, the long-term hopes stretch to next season and beyond. Girard-Perregaux’s latest release with Aston Martin co-branding is the beautiful Laureato Chronograph Aston Martin Edition. Its sumptuous iridescent green dial involves applying 15 ultra-thin layers of paint to the surface, paying homage to Aston Martin’s classic green liveries. The GP03300 automatic chronograph movement powers the piece with 46 hours of power reserve. I’ve always loved the look of the Laureato, and the combination of its 42mm matte gray case and the vibrant green dial is a winner.

Hot take: This partnership has been around since 2021, but it was 2023 when Girard-Perregaux gave us the first Laureato Aston Martin edition. The previous Three Bridges edition was perhaps too Haute Horlogerie for F1, and the sportier Laureato better matches the luxury sports car brand.

Alpine — H. Moser & Cie. (since 2024)

Aston may have had a weak season, but it mostly flew under the radar. Alpine’s 2024 campaign, on the other hand, was shambolic. The back-of-the-pack performances were unfortunate considering the team’s past championship success as Benetton and Renault in the 1990s and 2000s, respectively. However, 2022 was the last time the team finished in the top four constructors. Last season was looking to be the team’s worst ever. However, a double podium place at the Brazilian Grand Prix and further points hauls gave Alpine a better outcome in the latter half of the season. Hopefully, this puts the team members in better spirits going into 2025. It’ll also be the last time Alpine uses Renault engines as it seeks an off-the-shelf engine from Mercedes for next year.

Last year, H. Moser & Cie. emerged as Alpine Motorsports’ first-ever global partner. The partnership also includes all of Alpine’s motorsport divisions, with F1 being the highest profile and the World Endurance Championship (WEC) carrying a lot of prestige. The Streamliner range is a great platform to showcase the Alpine team’s livery. There are two Alpine limited editions in the team’s symbolic blue and its title sponsor BWT’s vibrant pink. Due to a hefty price of CHF 89,000, I hope for more streamlined Streamliner Alpine editions closer to the CHF 21,900 base model. Outside of F1, there may also be some nostalgia for the Alpine A110 from the world of rallying that can capitalize on the co-branding.

Hot take: Seeing the H. Moser & Cie. logo on a race car still blows my mind. With a pedigree of elegant designs and traditional watch craft, I figured H. Moser & Cie. better suits sophistication. With the upward trend of Alpine’s trajectory, hopefully, Moser can deliver more celebrated special editions to its collection.

Haas — No watch sponsor

Haas was looking strong for a good portion of 2024 with great teamwork between drivers Kevin Magnussen and Nico Hülkenberg. Sadly, a new lineup for this year ends this driver camaraderie, but with the young talent of Oliver Bearman and the experience of Esteban Ocon, there’s still hope for good results. Since 2020, Haas has been without an affiliated watch brand, and 2025 continues this trend, at least for now.

Racing Bulls — Tudor (since 2024)

With another year-on-year name change, Racing Bulls still acts as Red Bull’s sister team. While credited as Visa Cash App RB, at least commentary teams can refer to the team as Racing Bulls this year. However, it can be slow to catch on as the previous name, Scuderia Toro Rosso, still gets called out by other drivers in the heat of the moment. Yet, with a simpler name, the team can further build on its co-branding with Tudor. Last year saw many special editions tied to particular races, such as the multi-colored Miami edition with a chameleon dial. The only setback was that this watch was only for the two drivers, limiting the release but maximizing the exposure. These self-limiting timed releases are an odd strategy, but as we saw with the blue edition of the Black Bay Ceramic, eventually, the watches become available to the public.

Longtime Red Bull alumnus Daniel Ricciardo was unceremoniously axed from the team last year, giving way to fresh talent. F2 driver Isack Hadjar progresses to the big league alongside Yuki Tsunoda, who is entering his fifth season with the team. Prospects are mixed as Red Bull receives greater focus on succeeding, while Racing Bulls acts as the test bed for young drivers. Case in point, Liam Lawson, Ricciardo’s replacement, now slots into the vacated seat at Red Bull following Sergio Pérez’s departure. Tudor is well placed to bank on this youthful energy, targeting a younger demographic than Rolex.

Hot take: Tudor’s timepieces land in a sweet spot of affordability and, compared to previous brands, are more attainable for average Formula 1 fans. I wish these effervescent and exciting limited editions become available to customers immediately.

Williams — No watch sponsor (Formerly Bremont 2021–2023)

Another year and still no watch sponsor for 2025. However, there is a real buzz around Williams for this season. Chief among this hype is the hiring of Carlos Sainz, who unfairly had to make way for Lewis Hamilton at Ferrari. While I would’ve preferred Sainz to join a top-tier team like Red Bull to match his incredible talent, it boosts Williams’ prospects. Let’s see if this new partnership incentivizes watch brands to sponsor the team.

Kick Sauber — No watch sponsor (Formerly Rebellion Timepieces 2022–2023)

I mentioned other teams dropping the standings, but Sauber was utterly woeful. If it weren’t for Zhou Guanyu’s inspired drive to eighth place in Qatar, it would have looked like the team would end the season with zero points. Unfortunately, 2025 doesn’t look any better, but in 2026, the team will become Audi, making this season a bit of a stopgap. Consequently, not many sponsors are attracted to Sauber, including watch sponsors for the second year in a row.

Watch brands and Formula 1 in 2025 and beyond

If you’re an F1 fan, which team and watch brand do you think make the best partners? Are there any partnerships that you would like to see in the future, perhaps for some of the teams currently without timing partners? Let me know in the comments, and enjoy the 2025 Formula 1 season.