UK Edition 2025 – The Daily Telegraph

|  WATCH YOUR TIME

FOCUS

21

F O C U S

TAG Heuer has never been one to simply

mark time and in its 165th anniversary,

the brand’s unparalleled motorsports

credentials see it back where it belongs,

in the cockpit as Official Timekeeper of

Formula 1.

Racing is hardwired into TAG Heuer’s operating code,

there’s no sense of the brand getting involved or borrow-

ing an aesthetic here. The first watch brand to apply its

logo to an F1 car in 1969 and the first to sign a sponsor-

ship with a race team in 1971 and the log since accompa-

nied 239 wins, 613 podiums and 15 driver world cham-

pionships. TAG Heuer is part of Formula 1.

Antoine Pin, TAG Heuer’s CEO, sums it up: “After sixty

years in F1, TAG Heuer is embedded in the collective

memory. It’s just natural.” Pin’s predecessor, Frédéric

Arnault, re-energised TAG Heuer’s relationship with

motorsport through a partnership with Porsche that res-

onated through the paddock and beyond and now, TAG

Heuer returns to the grid not only as a participant, but

as Official Timekeeper. It’s a status that not only rein-

forces TAG Heuer’s technical reputation but brings a vast

global audience; the 1.5 billion that follow the sport avidly.

Yet visibility alone doesn’t justify the commitment.

At the heart of TAG Heuer’s re-entry into F1 is a sense of

shared values – precision, endurance, and the visceral

union between human and machine. “It’s this juxtaposi-

tion of technology and humanity, the harmony and ten-

sion, that’s the formula for success,” says Pin. And it’s a

sentiment that underpins the brand’s new ‘Designed to

Win’ campaign, unveiled at Watches & Wonders Geneva

2025, a campaign that riffs on the ‘mind games’ that fuel

triumph.

To bring the campaign to life, TAG Heuer enlisted

a trio of athletic titans: the ten-medal Olympian, Carl

Lewis, Double F1 champion, Mika Häkkinen and 4-medal

Olympic swimmer, Summer McIntosh. Representing dif-

ferent disciplines, but united through their meticulous

preparation, laser focus and an unyielding will to push

through perceived limits. “Between sport and watch-

making, the overlaps are not just poetic, they’re practi-

cal,” says Carole Forestier-Kasapi, Director of Movement

Strategy. “Since 1860, TAG Heuer has been one of the

most innovative and visionary brands in the industry.

For us, everything is about ‘functional design’, requiring

fundamental lab research and flawless quality testing to

push the limits of performance, functionality, and dura-

bility. It’s a mindset very similar to that of elite athletes.

Like them, we constantly measure time!”

This spirit is perfectly embodied in this year’s

watches—starting with three Formula 1 watches and,

for the adrenaline junkies, five versions of the Formula 1

Chronograph, including one dedicated to Oracle Red Bull

Racing. On the racing front, the ceramic-cased Monaco

Split-Seconds Chronograph F1 is the showstopper, a

study in split-second drama powered by the high-fre-

quency TH81-00 calibre, accurate to 1/10th of a second.

If it’s innovation you’re after, there’s the Formula 1

Solargraph that can run for 24 hours of from just one

minute of light exposure and up to 10 months after 40

hours: the battery holding the charge will last for 15

years. Rounding out the lineup are new Carrera mod-

els, including a Chronosprint x Porsche Rallye, a Carrera

Day-Date and a Carrera Chronograph for women. “An

elegant, precious watch that also has the plus of being

a chronograph” as Pin describes it. Pure TAG Heuer in

other words. ■ Éric Dumatin

1. TAG HEUER Carrera Day-Date. To mark TAG Heuer’s return

to the F1 circuits in 2025, the iconic Carrera Day-Date has been

updated both aesthetically and technically. Available in five 41 mm

models in a number of materials, colours and finishes, it houses

the exclusive TH31 movement, developed with AMT, boasting an

impressive 80-hour power reserve. The steel model with sun-

ray-brushed blue dial epitomises classic elegance.

2. TAG HEUER Formula 1 Solargraph. The Formula 1 line

returns boldly with nine 38 mm models: three regular collection

steel-bracelet versions and six limited editions on rubber straps,

with launches timed with Grand Prix, such as the black-and-yellow

version tied to the Mexico GP. The standout features are the use

of bio-polyamide either for the bezel only or for both case and

bezel and the Solargraph solar-powered movement.

Top chrono!

ANTOINE PIN  |  CEO TAG HEUER