FIRST IMPRESSIONS: TAG Heuer Formula 1 'Red Bull World Champions Edition' Quartz Chronograph

 

CAZ101AY.FC6591

You may remember back in March I wrote about a visit to the Red Bull Formula 1 factory in Milton Keynes that my wife treated me to for Valentine's Day. In it I mentioned that I had attempted and failed miserably to get hands on with one of these 'team only' watches, being told that no one actually wears them in the factory and that everyone had them safely locked away at home.

With little information and only a couple of not so great pictures available I decided to wait a while before writing about the watch and I'm glad I did because now not only do I have the part number for said watch but also some decent photographs to go with it.

So what do we actually know about this watch? Well, it seems it was commissioned by Max Verstappen to celebrate his third consecutive Formula 1 World Championship success and was given to everyone who works for the Red Bull Formula 1 team. Well, not quite everyone, because as I was told back in March because the watch is 43mm ladies (and possibly smaller wristed gents?) were given the option of a different TAG Heuer watch.

We do know however that there were 1257 pieces made, with the vast majority of these being distributed in Milton Keynes. I believe there was also a certain number (50 or 100) kept by Max himself to distribute privately. So while this isn't the rarest of rare editions by number, the fact that you could only get one by dint of working for Red Bull makes this rather special and super collectible.

The watch you're looking at was listed for sale on Ebay at a pretty fair price of £3000. It is no longer available, so I think it's safe to assume it sold for the asking price and was offered for collection from Milton Keynes (thus adding to it's provenance). 

The watch is clearly a modification of the current Red Bull Formula 1, albeit with the red and yellow dial details switched out for orange and white, a number '1' added to the right hand subdial, orange numbers at the 3 and 6 positions, a special strap and a bespoke bezel celebrating the Dutchman and Red Bull's achievements. 

Now clearly from a purely aesthetic angle that bezel is flawed, with the ORACLE RED BULL RACING text considerably off-centre... but in this instance I think we have to let it go as the text is clearly more important than the symmetry, and to be honest I'm not sure how else they could have done it other than ditching the TAG Heuer shield at the 12 so the bezel could be worn in any position?

In case you are wondering, the three stars on the Max Verstappen side represent his three WDC (World Drivers Championship) victories in 2021, 2022 and 2023 and the six stars on the right hand side represent Red Bull's six WCC (World Constructors Championship) victories: 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2022 and 2023. Of course Mercedes took the WCC trophy in 2021 despite Max famously grabbing the driver's title on the last lap of the season.

But let's not open that can of worms again, instead it's time to find out what the esteemed Council have to say about this one...

8.5/10: "If I was a big fan of Max, I'd probably rate it a 9 or maybe even a 9.5. As I'm not, it's an 8.5 but I do love this kind of stuff. Definitely the best out of all the Red Bull watches released so far and also the most special. It's like the modern-day equivalent of the 1974 Heuer Carrera McLaren World Champions watch, which was given to the McLaren pit crew after Emerson Fittipaldi won the '74 WDC. This Max/RB 2023 Champions watch has the same real-life connection to the team, albeit not as rare as the 1974 McLaren watch, as there's 1257 of them."

5/10: "From the pictures a fairly boring special edition."

6.5/10: "Although I recognize the historical value of this watch and as a collector's item, I find its dial and bezel too busy… that grid slot around the lower subdial, and all these stars 😏. Especially since the 2021 season I have no sympathy for Max, so that also makes me subtract half a point."

6/10: "I like it but there's almost too much going on to use it as a watch. That said, as a collection piece it's very cool."

8/10: "Like this one…."

7.5/10: "I really like the wording / design on both the bezel and the dial and the strap is great too."

3/10: "I cannot see the appeal. Mismatch of everything with no cohesive design. Something you’d see in the back of a catologue."

8/10: "I like it, the colour combo and the perforated strap…"

9/10: "I like this."

6/10: "The dial is crowded and not easily legible, and it's odd why some numbers are coloured and the others are not."

5/10: "I think that’s because of the 3 drivers’ and 6 constructors’ championships… that said, it does nothing for me - 5/10 (to account for the rarity and thematic design)."

8/10: "According to a proud Dutchman."

7/10: "Not a fan of Red Bull or Max, but it's a good looking edition and true to what Tag Heuer should be all about."

2/10: "It’s a mess."

1/10: "I agree, horrible!"

9/10: "Strong 9. All hail Max Verstappen!"

 

8/10: "I think this is nicely done and fair play to Max for commissioning these for the team. I have no idea what the guy is like, as don’t follow F1, but the gesture is cool. 1/10 for the guy who put one on eBay though!"

4/10: "It is too busy. I get why the stars (three and six) are on the bezel, but the fact that the team's name is not symmetric at the 6:00 position drives me nuts. Also, my score has nothing to do with the fact that I am no fan of RBR. 😝 "

1/10: "Way way way too much. Like the strap though."

7.5/10: "I appreciate this release, but I’m not sure how much I like it for me. I do like what they did with the hands, though."

9/10: "That is a very well done F1 watch, with nice details paying tribute to the champ and the team (PTS and stars)! Somehow I feel this is exactly what the TAG Heuer FORMULA 1 watch stands for, though I just realised that this is only for team members..."