FIRST IMPRESSIONS: Formula One Quartz Chronograph Max Verstappen Limited Edition

CAZ101B.FT8028

In May 2016 Max Verstappen became the youngest ever Formula One race winner at the Spanish Grand Prix in Barcelona, incredibly this was also his first race for the Red Bull F1 team (and his first real chance to compete at the top level having been promoted from the 'Junior' Toro Rosso team). Love him or hate him, that's quite some achievement and given the changes to the rules of entry to Formula One, it's a record he's likely to keep for a very long time (FIA rules now preclude entry to the sport for any driver under the age of eighteen).

To celebrate what promises to be the first of many wins, TAG Heuer have released this Formula One Quartz Chronograph as a limited edition of 500 pieces through it's Dutch dealer network and, from what I'm reading on the Calibre 11 forum, the chances of seeing one (even in a Dutch shop window) are pretty slim as it sounds like the entire run has been pre-sold. 

Priced at 1350 Euros, it seems like a good buy as it has solid potential to become a future collectible, while at the same time offering the purchaser an affordable 'limited edition' piece with a genuine F1 connection. You may be wondering what the relevance of the orange sector on the dial is, well as far as I can tell it looks very much like reads about 18.5mins, which is about how old Max was in years when he took his maiden victory. 

Whether you take to this watch or not is very much going to depend on how you feel about the colour orange. Personally I like the orange on the dial, but I think the strap is a step too far. I can't help but think it's going to get very grubby very quickly. But this is for the Dutch market and the colour orange is a huge thing in the Netherlands, as can be seen by the speed at which these have been selling. 

Then again, I can't help thinking that an awful lot of these are going to be bought and kept in the box until we see how Max's career pans out, since in a few years these pieces could potentially offer the buyers who've snapped them up a decent return on their investment...