Formula 1 Team Watches

[Mspeedster]

With the recent release of the latest Red Bull watch, I thought it would be fun to have a thread on all the F1 Team watches.

The Marlboro McLaren Era 1986-1996

I'll start with the OG TAG Heuer Formula 1, chosen as the first Marlboro McLaren Team watch from 1986-1989. Ref 385.513 was perfectly matched to the Marlboro livery. Worn by the pit crew and mechanics.

From 1990-1991 and part of '92, the F1 Chrono ref 472.513 became the McLaren Team watch.

Then sometime in 1992, the F1 Chrono ref 571.493 (bracelet) became the next McLaren Team watch.
It seemed to remain the McLaren Team watch throughout the rest of the Marlboro sponsored era. As I still noticed it in pictures like this one from 1996, the last season before West tobacco sponsorship took over.

Edited: Thurs. 9:25pm

 

[Mspeedster]

In addition to McLaren, the OG Formula 1 was also the team watch of Tyrrell in 1990. Ref 387.513, as I previously shared in this thread:

https://tagheuerforums.com/threads/1990-tyrrell-f1-team-watch-tag-heuer-formula-1-blue-white.169774/

Thread '1990 TYRRELL F1 Team Watch - TAG Heuer Formula 1 Blue & White' ·

Many know that the OG Formula 1 in Red & White was the official team watch of McLaren F1 throughout the late '80s and into the '90s. As seen in this pic.


But I recently learned of...

Mspeedster · Feb 28, 2024

Edited: Thurs. 9:26pm

 

[Mspeedster]

The West McLaren Mercedes Era 1997-2006

One might think that with TAG Heuer's release of the Series 2 Formula 1 watches in '97, that it would've been adopted that same year as the McLaren team watch. But such was not the case, the Series 1 ref 571.493 was still being worn by the crew in '97-'98, its silver and black color scheme being a nice match for the new West livery.

The Mclaren team did adopt the Formula1 Series 2 ref. CA1211.BA0493 in the '99 season. It looks very similar to its predecessor, but the red hands and red accent in the 6 o'clock register visually differentiates it. I don't know if I should technically call it a "team watch", as McLaren members seemed to wear a variety of TAGs in this time period. Unlike the '80s or early '90s, when they all wore the same TAG F1 as a part of their team uniforms.

TAG Heuer would cease production of the Formula1 at the end of the '90s, but after a 4-year hiatus, the Series 3 Formula1 was introduced. It was immediately adopted as the McLaren team watch in 2004. The 3-hander Ref WAC1111.BA0850 became the next team watch, as the crew returned to form wearing the same TAG F1 model.

The Series 3 Formula1 is somewhat synonymous with Kimi Raikkonen, as he gave input into the design. Most notably the rubber guards on the sides of the case. Perhaps a cool feature back then, but they haven't withstood the test of time. The rubber on mine has deteriorated with age, albeit the watch is 20 years old now.

The above pictures show it being worn in 2004, 2005 and 2006, the last year of West sponsorship.

Vodafone's red & sliver livery would come the following year in 2007. But what about the McLaren Team watches? Stay tuned for my next post.

Edited: Thurs. 9:38pm

 

[Mspeedster]

The Vodafone McLaren Mercedes Era 2007-2013

In 2007, Vodafone took over as McLaren's title sponsor. For me, the Vodafone McLaren era was the last of the team's glory years. In a break from tradition, the new team watch was not a Formula1, it was in fact a Link!!! Ref. CJ1111.BA0576, a silver chrono.
CJ1111.BA0576

The Series 4 Formula1 line up was introduced 2007, in 2008 it joined the Link as the team watch. The chosen model being the white dial chrono on rubber strap ref. CAH1111.BT0714.
CAH1111.BT0714

In 2009, the team continued to wear both the aforementioned F1 CAH1111.BT074 and the Link CJ1111.BA0576 from the previous years.
However, in 2010 came another surprise, it was the Aquaracer's turn! Ref. CAF101A.BA0821 was worn during 2010-2011 as the team watch.

CAF101A.BA0821

In 2012, TAG Heuer introduced the Series 5 Formula1, and as expected, it became the McLaren team watch that same year. The all black dial chrono on rubber strap, ref. CAU1110.FT6024, as the team's standard issue.
CAU1110.FT6024

The Series 5 Formula1 would close out the Vodafone era and indeed the TAG Heuer x McLaren era.

TAG Heuer x McLaren - The Final Years
The end of an era: 2014 would be the last year of Mercedes power since first partnering with McLaren in 1995. Back with Honda again in 2015, McLaren hoped to rekindle the magic of their golden years. However, they struggled instead. Sadly, 2015 also marked the end of McLaren's nearly 30-year partnership with TAG Heuer.

The Series 5 Formula1 ref CAU1115.BA0858 (gray dial) was worn in 2014-2015.


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Please note that all of this is based on my own personal watch spotting from reviewing tons of pics and cross-referencing against resources like TAG Heuer's catalogues, TAG's website, & @Aquagraph's blog etc. to ID the watches and reference numbers.

While I've tried to be very accurate, this is an unofficial account based on my own research. Any additions or corrections are welcome.
--

Next up, the Red Bull x TAG Heuer era begins...

Edited: Fri. 11:34am

 

[HoltzPlatz]

Exemplary research here Speedsterman, well done!

 

[TagFanZa]

Absolutely love this. Kindly link the Red Bull thread once posted.

 

[Jim Dollares]

Speaking of Red Bull and TAG Heuer. From 2021, hence more recent references missing from my post



http://tagheuerenthusiast.blogspot.com/2021/01/feature-five-years-of-tag-heuer-and-red.html?m=1