Splitting Seconds: Formula 1 Champion Max Verstappen on Partnership With TAG Heuer

Ahead of last month’s Chinese Grand Prix, Red Bull Formula 1 driver Max Verstappen and the team’s sponsor TAG Heuer talk Prestige through the links between speed, time and motor racing.

TAG Heuer – or simply Heuer as it was known then – may not have been the first non-automotive brand to become involved in motorsport, but it’s undeniable that the Swiss watchmaker has made its mark in the world of racing as few other brands have – and especially when it comes to Formula 1. The great Jack Heuer, after all, was an absolute racing fanatic.

The great-grandson of the company’s founder Edouard Heuer, Jack found himself at the helm of the family company in the 1960s when he was just 28 years old. A racing enthusiast through and through, he masterminded some of the most famous watches associated with motorsport, including the Carrera – named after the legendary Mexican Carrera Panamericana road race – which graced the wrists of many a champion including Niki Lauda, and the emblematic square Monaco, elevated to grail-piece status by Hollywood actor Steve McQueen in his movie Le Mans.

“Watches and cars have always been related and compared to each other,” says current TAG Heuer CEO Julien Tornare. “I was fortunate enough to meet Jack Heuer a few weeks ago, and he was explaining how he started to link his watches to racing. He was one of the first ones to do it, and it worked very well, so it became part of the DNA of the brand. Measuring time, measuring performance – that’s something we’ve always been doing, so we’ll continue
to be involved in motor racing.”

As the brand’s heritage director Nicholas Biebuyck adds, the company has been in the business of creating timing instruments ever since man chased faster and faster speeds, dating back more than a century ago. 

“From very early on in the creation of the brand in the 1890s, Heuer was already making chronograph stopwatches which were being used to time these very early racing events,” he recounts. “In 1911, we launched the first dashboard-mounted chronograph, and in 1916 we launched the micrograph that could measure 1/100th of a second, which you can imagine is very important in circuit racing. And then throughout the ’30s to ’60s, we continued this development.

“But the most important period was the ’50s. At the time Heuer decided to stop making time-only wristwatches and only make chronograph watches, so motor racing is very much at the centre of the brand. We were there from the beginning of motorsport, and in 1968 we sponsored [Swiss driver] Jo Siffert, which we followed by becoming the first luxury brand to sponsor Formula motor racing in 1971.”

Subsequently in 1985, Luxembourg’s Techniques d’Avant Garde (TAG) purchased a majority stake in Heuer, and the acquisition transformed the brand into TAG Heuer. While there’ve been mixed feelings about the new identity, one thing is undeniable: the watchmaker continues to make waves in the world of motor racing, just as it did in the mid-20th century. A significant stakeholder in McLaren, the late TAG CEO Mansour Ojjeh was just as much a racing enthusiast as Heuer. His acquisition can be seen as part of a golden era that took in “Scuderia Ferrari, followed by McLaren and now Red Bull Racing,” Biebuyck says with a grin. Indeed, over the years the brand’s sponsored teams have won 11 constructor’s championships and 14 driver’s championships in Formula 1. The recent domination of Red Bull added to those numbers significantly, though both Biebuyck and Tornare tell me TAG Heuer took a significant risk by entering the partnership.

“It’s interesting with Red Bull, because when we formed the partnership with them in 2016, the team weren’t that successful,” the heritage director explains, despite the Austrian team winning four back-to-back championships with Sebastian Vettel from 2010 to 2013. “They were really struggling after those years of success, so everyone was surprised by our decision to work with them. But the fact is, there’s a spirit to Red Bull, one that’s very different from other teams. They’re not a traditional car manufacturer, they’re an energy drinks company. You’d think: what right does an energy drink company have to not only compete in Formula 1 but be winning? But their attitude in doing business, the way to innovate and the way they build their talent – all of these things come together and very well reflect who we are at TAG Heuer. It’s been a great partnership and we’re very lucky to have them.”

“When we first partnered with the team, it was just a bet, but now it’s become one of the most successful partnerships we have,” echoes Tornare. “People see TAG Heuer cars and TAG Heuer drivers winning all the time, so for us it’s brilliant in terms of awareness and desirability. But it also speaks for our mindset: drivers Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez and the whole team operate seamlessly, like an orchestra, and that’s very much what we do at TAG Heuer too.”

During a pop-up event in Shanghai, three-time world champion Verstappen – who drove to a comfortable victory at the Chinese Grand Prix that weekend – was in attendance, so naturally we ask him his thoughts on both racing and watches. 

“Time is very important for a driver, whether on and off track,” he says. “We’re always fighting for tenths of a second, and we live by a strict schedule in Formula 1. Of course, being partners with TAG Heuer, you get even more influenced by time.”

Although a skeletonised version of the Monaco in Red Bull colours remains his favourite TAG Heuer timepiece, on his wrist that day was a reissue of the legendary golden Carrera Chronograph, also known as the Champion’s Watch, given its pedigree of being presented to various other former champions.

“This gold Carrera is an homage to the original model dating back to the ’60s and ’70s,” Verstappen explains. “It was given to me after winning my last championship, and I know a few other champions have worn this model in the past, so it’s very cool to be able to wear it myself too.”

Despite missing out on first place for the Miami Grand Prix early this last month, with McLaren driver Lando Norris taking his maiden win seconds ahead of the Red Bull driver, Verstappen remains ever confident in his team, his car and his own driving abilities. Asked what’s in store for the remainder of the season, he replies with the conviction fit for a three-time world champion who’s easily on his way to a fourth.

“At the moment, the feeling within the team is great, and we want to stay on top for as long as we can because you never know when that’ll end. That’s what we’re working on, and we hope for the rest of the season we can stay on top.”