Inside Tag Heuer's $1 Billion Formula 1 Deal
This story is taken from Esquire's About Time newsletter, style director Johnny Davis’s straight-talking take on the wonderful world of watches. Sign up here
In October, widespread rumours that the sponsorship of Formula 1 motorsport was to be passed from Rolex to the LVMH group, owners of 75 luxury brands, including Louis Vuitton, Moët Hennessy and Dior, as well as Tag Heuer watches, were confirmed.
It was naturally assumed that the watchmaker would take over the timekeeping of F1’s 2025 season, not least because it had held that role before, from 1992 and 2003, as well as being the watch brand with by far the deepest roots in the competition.
Those roots date back to the 1950s, when CEO Jack Heuer would sell stopwatches around the racetracks of America. He later named whole watch families for the sport, including the Monaco, the Carrera and, least ambiguously of all, the Formula 1. During motorsport’s golden era, Niki Lauder, Ayrton Senna, Mario Andretti, Alain Prost, James Hunt and more were all kitted out with Heuer wristwear.
(What’s more, you didn’t need to be Inspector Hunkeler to deduce that something might be going on last year, as Tag Heuer’s release schedule skewed even more F1-friendly than normal. From the limited-edition re-editions of its poppy 1980s Formula 1 watch it launched with streetwear brand Kith in May to the high-end titanium Carrera in tribute to Ayrton Senna it put out in November.)
Due to something contractual – presumably, Rolex’s deal was technically still in place until the end of 2024 – Tag Heuer was disallowed from communicating the news until this week.
On Monday, ten minutes after it dropped a genuinely spectacular promo video to announce its return to F1, I spoke with the brand’s chief marketing officer, George Ciz, and heritage director, Nicholas Biebuyck, over the internet from Tag Heuer HQ in Biel.
The stories surrounding the money for the deal being bandied about suggest that Rolex initially sponsored the F1 for $10m annually, a figure that rose to $50m, and included trackside branding at all the races as well as title sponsorship at select events.
The new LVMH deal is said to be worth $1bn, over ten years.
Those figures are speculative, as well as big, but it’s also been suggested they may even represent a bargain for LVMH.
Because this isn’t about Rolex vs Tag Heuer.
“The deal includes other LVMH brands and features the Moët champagne on the podium and the trophies in Louis Vuitton trunks,” says Oliver R Müller, founder of the Swiss watch industry consultancy LuxeConsult. “I don’t think it was a matter of outbidding Rolex, but rather a decision taken by Rolex to leave the sport, and then [F1 owners] Liberty Media took the opportunity to raise the stakes by more or less doubling the price.”
“When you look at the size of LVMH in total, it absolutely dwarfs Rolex,” says the industry expert Andrew Morgan. “And the drivers are getting more and more obsessed with fashion. In the old days, they would be knocking around the grid, and photographers could get pictures of them. Now what happens is, they all arrive in the morning, do a ‘fashion parade’, an idea started off by Lewis [Hamilton], then they disappear into the pits and you don’t see them again.
"There’s also the wives and girlfriends of the drivers, which luxury brands involved in F1 have been perusing. [Non-LVMH makeup brand] Charlotte Tilbury sponsors [all-female racing series] the F1 Academy, and has held birthday bashes for Kelly Piquet, daughter of [three-time F1 world champion] Nelson Piquet, and partner of [current world champion] Max Verstappen. Add on top an audience for that sport that’s increasingly skewing female, and the deal starts to sound very good indeed.”
And so George Ciz, Nicholas Biebuyck and I mostly had a conversation where they deftly avoided questions about a deal they couldn’t discuss, as well as a year’s worth of watches they’ve yet to announce.
But their enthusiasm was, justifiably, infectious.
After we spoke, I asked Jeff Stein, Tag Heuer’s foremost out-of-house historian, fan and the keeper of the peerless online resource OnTheDash, to put the brand’s long association with motorsport into context.
Below is what Jeff said, followed by my chat with George and Nick.
About Time: How did Jack Heuer go from peddling stopwatches at US racetracks, to selling wristwatches to the drivers?
Jeff Stein: Jack Heuer tells the story that his father, Charles-Edouard Heuer, sent him to the United States at age 26, in 1959, to address the company’s problem in the stopwatch market. Heuer had a market share of 20 to 25 per cent in most major markets, but in the United States – by far the largest market in the world – it had only a two to three per cent. Jack was enthusiastic about all types of racing and rallying and immersed himself in all styles in the United States, from the amateur events on weekends to the top professional events, such as the 12 Hours of Sebring. He was peddling stopwatches to the race organisers and clubs, as well as the drivers and their teams.
Jack was always the master salesman and – perhaps even more importantly – he sensed natural selling and promotional opportunities. I have always imagined the racers and their team members visiting Jack’s stand for the sake of buying the stopwatch – generally priced in the $25 to $35 range, and walking away with a beautiful new chronograph, priced in the $60 to $120 range. Jack was always a man of style, and selling chronographs must have come naturally to him.
The next step was Jack Heuer seeing this opportunity to sell wristwear to racers, and racing enthusiasts, and designing watches that they would find attractive and useful. It didn’t take long for Jack to seize this opportunity, creating the Autavia in 1962 and the Carrera in 1963, and the uptake was incredible.
In the glory days of F1 Lauder, Senna, Prost, Hunt, etc all looked incredible… Andretti beaming away, wearing his 18ct gold Heuer in a tiny cockpit, for example. The joke is that the last place you’re going to need to check the time is doing 200mph whizzing around a racetrack, so these watches really were style statements more than anything else, right?
Absolutely correct. Steve McQueen famously selected his ‘costume’ for the filming of [1971 motor racing movie] Le Mans, wanting to look like a racer – specifically, Jo Siffert – and, circa 1970, the racers’ costumes were comprised of racing suits, helmets, balaclavas and boots, and the prevalence of watches in the pits was also notable. Each of these items had elements of utility – fire protection, comfort, feel, etc – as well as style. The prevalence of chronographs on the wrists of racers was high. It was part of the racers’ look. We see racers sitting on the “Armco” [steel safety barriers] looking at each other’s watches and occasionally swapping them.
Is it possible to quantify what the exposure from these drivers did for Heuer sales?
I believe that the “win on Sunday, sell on Monday” mantra motivated the watch brands, as well as the car brands. Heuer was everywhere in the world of racing and rallying, with racers and team members wearing Heuer chronographs, the racing teams using Heuer stopwatches and timers, organizers using Heuer gear to time the events and related brands – Champion, Motor Age, Shelby, and so on – used them as promotional items. Talk to racers from the 1960s and 1970s, and they will tell you that these were the watches that “everyone” wanted.
There’s no end of cool/ oddball F1 related watches in the Tag Heuer archives – a 1974 range that honoured the great racetracks, eg: the Silverstone; or 1976’s Monza to mark Ferrari’s return to world champions. What would you like to see released this year?
It was nothing short of miraculous that the name “Formula 1” was available for Heuer to use in 1986. It’s the perfect name for chronographs linked to motorsports. There’s no doubt Tag Heuer will go “all-in” on the Formula 1 collection this year. The demographics of the Formula 1 [sport] audience suggest that they can take the collection upmarket, adding more sophisticated materials and movements in the F1 chronographs. Walk through the paddock at an F1 weekend, and you’ll see some amazing watches. The origins of the collection in 1986 and its position as the brand’s “entry-level” collection since then suggest that the F1 can have broad appeal as a simple, cool three-hand watch. The Kith collaboration validated that suggestion. Now, I imagine we’ll see popular, well-priced watches with “Tag Heuer” on the dial, rather than “Kith Heuer”.
Personally, I am looking forward to seeing, and likely collecting, both ends of this range – the well-developed chronograph that moves “up-market” and the three-hand watch that the Gen Z enthusiasts will chase.
At heart, I’m a Gen Zer.
About Time: Hello George, hello Nick. Congratulations on the announcement. The comments on your social media have been quite something. People are excited.
George Ciz: It’s amazing. Honestly, there’s only positive comments. People love things when they’re authentic. When you double-down on the heritage. There’s the beautiful video we just posted. I get goosebumps watching it. It’s a really special moment for us. It’s emotional.
Nicholas Biebuyck: It’s super, super satisfying to finally be back. There’s just unlimited stuff for us to talk about in this universe.
I’m enjoying the messaging. "Official Timekeeper Of Formula 1. Again."
George Ciz: It’s just a simple message! I don’t think we need to say much more than that. It will progressively build-up through the year as product [ie: watches] get added. It’s going to be very entertaining. It’s going to be educational. We don’t do a million different partnerships, you know? We’ve really been slimming down our portfolio for the last four years. I think that makes us different from other brands. We don’t just put the logos on the track. It’s really the storytelling that’s behind it.
You’ve both been F1 fans for a long time. Why has it become so ridiculously popular now? It can’t just be Drive to Survive, surely? The stats are huge – 90m followers on social media; 1 in 3 are under 35; 42 per cent female…
George Ciz: I can talk a little bit about that, because I’ve spent most of my career in professional sport [prior to Tag Heuer, he played professional tennis]. You’re absolutely right. I have never seen a sport that’s grown like this one has, since Liberty Media took over. I think there have been a few things. [On one level] sport is the simplest business model on the planet. It’s simply caring who wins or loses! [But Liberty has used] groundbreaking storytelling, over a sustained period. They talk about the teams. They talk about the story of the season – within the drivers’ championships, the battles for all the places, in a way that the audience can understand. It’s not only about “first” and “second”. Now people really understand why it’s important to finish fifth versus six. The way they improved the broadcasting, the coverage, even the audio you hear, so that you feel like you’re at the track. You don’t just market sport with glossy campaigns. You make the product good. That’s brought in a lot of demographics, especially females. There’s also been this fantastic competitive era – this rivalry coming through with Lewis Hamilton [at Ferrari] and Max Verstappen [at Oracle Red Bull Racing]. Then there’s a great TV product that lasts two-plus hours. Appointment TV, every weekend. And then you add in all the work they’ve done on the visual presentation on the merchandise. The rebranding. Great marketing is never just one lever that you pull. It’s like a [graphic] equalizer, constantly pushing up all the different aspects.
What about the partnerships?
George Ciz: They’ve changed the way they do them. They have a limited number, globally, of which LVMH is now one. They’re smart guys, the way they’ve gone about it. Another important factor is they’ve brought in the key opinion leaders. If you look at the paddocks, the number celebrities of there – it’s incredible. I was in Abu Dhabi at the last race of the season [in December] – it was crazy [an eclectic guestlist included Brad Pitt, Tim Cook, Eminem, Eve Longoria, Evander Holyfield, Ken Watanabe and Muse]. And it’s every race. It’s not like it’s once or twice a year. They’ve also elevated everything – from the price position of the tickets, upwards. They’ve created true desirability. Which is exactly what we try to do in the world of luxury.
How long has your deal been in the works for?
George Ciz: I don’t think it’s my place to comment on it. It’s been a deal done on the group level. We’re just super-happy that it happened. It’s a mutually beneficial partnership.
Tag Heuer stopped its partnership as the official timekeeper of Formula 1 in 2015, apparently for a mix of financial reasons, and wanting to diversify its sporting sponsorships. What happened there?
George Ciz: You know, we never really left. Even after we finished our timekeeping stint with F1. We were always there, with [sponsorship of] the teams – with McLaren, with Oracle Red Bull Racing now. If you look at the number of activations we have done in the last four years, I will say, minimum, 50 per cent of our work has been around racing and F1 and motorsports. This was a clear strategy. We wanted to refocus the brand on motorsports. The fact that this opportunity came up, it was the cherry on the top. Even before that, with our partnerships with Porsche, with Oracle Red Bull Racing – we have been in the sport because we are the brand for motorsport lovers.
What activations can we look forward to in 2025?
George Ciz: It’s impossible to activate all 24 [races] in a huge way. We’ll obviously pick certain races to do really huge things. But you will see some new things on the track [at all the events]. There will be amazing clocks around the races. We look forward to unveiling all of that in Melbourne, at the very first race of the season [on 24 March]. Clearly, Monaco will continue to be the spiritual home of this brand. There are many others between Miami, Las Vagas, Abu Dhabi. The other thing that Liberty Media has done really well is that the races are competing with each other, trying to outdo one another. It’s this competition that drives the sport forward.
Nicholas Biebuyck: There’s no debate that from a watchmaking perspective we are the one company that can truly talk about these things without anyone questioning our legitimacy in the space. Not only in Formula 1, but the automotive universe as a whole. The fact that the [1960s and 1970s drivers] were choosing to wear [Heuer] watches on their own and giving them out to their buddies and that we have so many amazing, iconic images of the greatest drivers in Formula 1 history, wearing our watches – it’s just magical. Four years ago, when I joined the company, this was the dream that we will be back as official timekeepers. Clearly, I wasn’t the only one who had this idea. So, you know, we’re home.
The communication so far has been based around a fair amount of archive footage. How are you going to join the past with the present?
George Ciz: Our communication is not based on one visual and one video. It’s a year-long story. Not even a one-year story – a 10-year-long story. And hopefully much more than that. At the moment we’re celebrating the fact we’re back, and we’re talking about our heritage, showcasing all the stats, and how our watches evolved together with F1 over the years. And then gradually we will unveil new products related to that. Then we’re going to continue to tell the story of the season. Obviously, Oracle Red Bull Racing continues to be our hugely important partner. We are incredibly proud of Max being the four-time world champion. And we will be looking forward for the fifth this year – so we will support him massively. And we will continue to work with the team very closely.
What does the association with Max Verstappen give you?
George Ciz: The ultimate in sports sponsorship. If you don’t have the top player, it’s very difficult to activate [some elements of marketing]. That was the challenge we had over the last few years. Now we get into the “nirvana moment” where we have one of the best sports in the world, together with the world champion. That allows us to tell stories like you can’t imagine, because the rights are easy to manage. In the past, we were limited in terms of the video content from the races themselves. Now we’re working very closely with F1 – so the video we released today, we put together with their archive team. That allows us to blend the past with the present.
Nicholas Biebuyck: That’s exactly it. As the heritage director, what we’re talking about for the brand is to create this red thread – le feu rouge, as they call it in French – to connect the past, present and future. And it helps also to talk about the broader audience. The fact that, as you said, F1 has a much broader demographic than it had historically. We can tell narratives in many different ways, in many different formats. It’s the product, it’s the personalities, it’s the teams, it’s the sport as a whole, the sense of competition, the sense of mental resilience – all of these facets that we can play on are perfectly tailored to Tag Heuer, as a brand. George and I have had many, many conversations over months now, working this out. What can we do? What’s the best way to approach this?
The fact that you have a watch family called Formula 1 is quite handy.
Nicholas Biebuyck: There’s the literal interpretations of the partnership. The Formula 1 collection, the Carrera, the drivers wearing them, the technological development and innovation. I’ve been an F1 fan almost my whole life, and it’s great to have the physical presence – the clocks, the signage, the partnership with Oracle Red Bull. But, actually, more interesting than that is the spirit of competition, the teamwork. The drivers aren’t always racing against their competition on track. It’s also about qualifying. It’s the mind games, and the press conferences. It’s all of these games and these ideals that we really want to remind everyone of as well.
What did you learn from the Kith collaboration?
George Ciz: It was a very ballsy project, I have to say. The way we went about it, the way we changed the logo [the Tag Heuer dial logo was changed to “Kith Heuer” – a contentious decision for some]. Great collabs must come with a surprise, so you have to be prepared – you need to have a little bit of a stomach for it. You can’t disrupt and feel warm and fuzzy inside. But, what we learned is, number one: people absolutely love these watches – the one that Nick is wearing, right now, for example [an original 1980s limited edition “Ukyo Katayama”]. We could see the passion is there for authentic products from the past. It’s a fantastic prelude to what’s coming up. We also learned that there could be a beautiful crossover between Formula 1 and high-end fashion culture, if you play this the right way. You’ve seen it yourself, in the Museum [About Time attended the Tag Heuer Collectors Summit 2024, at their Swiss HQ], the wealth of ideas and the things that we can bring back and play with and contemporise.
Presumably you knew the LVMH deal was going to happen when you did the Kith collab?
George Ciz: The stars aligned!
Nicholas Biebuyck: It just all coincidentally lined up perfectly, Johnny. We had no idea any of this was going to happen but just magically – through some amazing coincidence – all of these pieces fell into place at the same time. We were super-lucky.
Maybe you could reintroduce that original Formula 1 line again?
George Ciz: It’s going to be an exciting year for fans of Tag Heuer. But also, we’re part of a group and it’s been great working with the other brands. We should do a follow-up chat at the end of the year, and you can tell me if you agree with all this!
What about some of your other lines? The Monaco, the Autavia – will we see new watches there?
George Ciz: Monaco, certainly – of course. Autavia is not a strategic priority for the moment. Formula 1, Carrera, Monaco, Aquaracer and the Connected watch. Those are really the five key collections at the moment that we are we are focusing on. And the Monza as well.
You’re not going to tell me, but I’m going to ask anyway. Do the figures being reported for the deal sound right?
George Ciz: It’s not our place to comment on this. We just have this tremendous opportunity. For us it’s a once in a lifetime opportunity.
Alright, what’s going to be the highlight of the 2025 season, then?
George Ciz: For us there is only one – Oracle Red Bull Racing and having Max there with [teammate] Liam [Lawson] next to him. We’re so excited to have these guys.
Nicholas Biebuyck: You know, 2024 has to be one of the most exciting seasons in Formula 1 history. Every fan who’s been following it for decades can see that what’s been going on has just been incredible. We couldn’t hope for a better season when it came to competition and driver performance. And, you know, the differences between the teams. For 2025, it’s even more again – Lewis going to Ferrari, Adrian [Newley, legendary F1 designer] going to Aston Martin, Max seriously committed to getting the fifth world championship. I’m excited to attend some races in person. It's always such an amazing place to be. So, yeah. It’s perfect timing for us to be back.
Formula 1 X Oracle Red Bull Racing
Formula 1 43mm
Formula 1 Chronograph 44mm
This story is taken from Esquire's About Time newsletter, style director Johnny Davis’s straight-talking take on the wonderful world of watches. Sign up here
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