The Essential Formula 1 Driver Watch Guide

If you are one of the lucky ( or just plain talented ) people who will stand on the winners podium after a race, then you’ll probably meet Alexander Molina. You may not have heard of him, but if you are a regular watcher of F1, you will no doubt have seen him. At the end of
the race, the top three drivers are ushered into a room, to quickly prepare themselves before going onto the podium to receive their applause, trophies and champagne.

Alexander is there to greet them, give them a cool bottle of water
and a towel if needed, an appropriate baseball cap to wear on the podium (
essential to cover up any messy hair!) and a watch. But why the watch you may ask? Well, seeing as the rules currently state that drivers are not allowed to wear their watches whilst in the car, they have to leave them in the pits when competing on the track. And yet, in this ever more brand conscious age, it normally pays to be seen to be wearing one when you are a driver, whether you actually get to choose the one you wear or not.

Some drivers have their own individual partnerships with watch brands, some are less fussy (or less fortunate, depending on your point of view) and will gladly wear whatever brand sponsors the team for which they drive, and some are free to choose as they please.

So, who wears what, and why? For the next couple of weeks, as the F1 Championship revs up we'll be profiling the drivers team by team and their favourite watches. First up the powerhouses of McLaren and Mercedes.

McLaren

Jenson Button
The current Formula 1 World Champion is now with McLaren, after seven years with the changing BAR / Honda / Brawn
team. In those years with them, he was seen wearing many models (and a few watches as well!) including the near standard issue for a racing driver, the Rolex Daytona, and offerings from the likes of Jaeger le Coultre, Richard Mille and Seiko, when they were sponsors during the BAR and Honda years. Now though, the only type of watch likely to be seen on his wrist will be a TAG Heuer, their association with McLaren lasting for 25 years now, one of the longest on the grid. Button's current watch of choice is from the Grand Carrera range, such as the one
 shown below.

Lewis Hamilton
Since he put pen to paper on his contract with McLaren aged just 13 years-old, Lewis has been a loyal wearer of TAG Heuer watches. Even though TAG Heuer has dedicated two of their limited edition models to the 2008 World Champion (the most recent piece pictured below) he normally wears different pieces, sometimes a model from their Formula One range, but, like his team mate, has more recently been seen wearing a model 
from the Grand Carrera range.

Mercedes

Michael Schumacher
The returning seven times World Champion had been an ambassador for Omega since his second year at Ferrari in 1997, and continued that role during his three year hiatus from racing. He could frequently be seen on the pit wall at races, as an advisor to Ferrari, wearing both the Planet Ocean chronograph, and a platinum limited edition Speedmaster.

Since returning to racing with the Mercedes GP team, however, I have yet 
to see him wearing a watch at all. Although at the time of writing he is still listed on Omega's website as an ambassador, I have been informed that this is no longer the case as of this month.

Nico Rosberg
Schumacher's fellow German teammate, Rosberg is the son of former World champion Keke Rosberg. He is usually a team player, and is normally seen wearing whichever brand is associated with the team he
drives for. For the last four years he has faithfully worn the Oris watch 
issued to him by Williams, and no doubt we will see more of him wearing his
 distinctive watch from Graham, whom carry over their sponsorship with Ross
Brawn to the new Mercedes team.

Continued in: The Essential Formula 1 Drivers' Watch Guide - Part II