Rolex grew to become the official Formulation 1 timekeeper again in 2013, and the manufacturers have since confirmed to be an incredible match. In a sport the place milliseconds matter, it might be troublesome to discover a higher accomplice than Rolex.
In accordance with Forbes, Rolex pay an estimated annual payment of $50 million to Formulation 1 to ensure that their emblem to be plastered on automobiles, drivers and promoting boards at race tracks. While this value could seem extreme to some, aligning with a prime stage sport like F1 makes a number of sense for one of the iconic watchmakers on the planet. Rolex epitomise class, and there aren’t many sports activities classier than F1. The ten 12 months contract signed in 2013 has seen many fascinating collaborations starting from signature restricted version watches to the official Rolex Pit Lane Clock. Take a deep dive into this particular partnership, and be taught why Rolex determined to sponsor Formulation 1…
The historic Rolex-Motorsports hyperlink
While the deal to grow to be F1’s official time keeper and world accomplice was signed comparatively not too long ago, Rolex’s presence in motorsport spans many years. The Swiss watchmaker have had a presence in racing going again to 1935 when Sir Malcolm Campbell became the first driver to break 300mph, whilst wearing a Rolex. Campbell was identified to be an enormous fan of Rolex watches and he helped develop the model within the racing world by introducing Rolex to different drivers. This love was reciprocated by Rolex because the momentous feat was celebrated with the creation of a restricted version look ahead to the ‘Pace King’- the Malcolm Campbell Oyster.
This partnership that they had established with Campbell propelled them to the highest of the racing world, as Rolex grew to become synonymous with excessive pace racing. They constructed a repute for making the most effective look ahead to sport, because of Rolex watches having an iconic ‘oyster case’. The partnership between Rolex and motorsport was consolidated within the Nineteen Sixties with the start of one of the well-liked watch fashions ever- the Rolex Daytona. Daytona isn’t just any outdated metropolis in Florida, it’s rooted within the historical past of motorsport. Daytona is home to the ‘Daytona 500,’ the most prestigious NASCAR race. Its compacted sand beaches also make it the ideal place for drivers to attempt to break speed records– this noticed Daytona grow to be the pace capital of the world.
The Rolex Daytona has since grow to be one of the fascinating watch fashions, with potential patrons having to endure a protracted wait simply to have an opportunity at shopping for the look ahead to checklist worth. Rolex’s hyperlink with the town itself, and its wealthy historical past of excessive pace racing, can be seen by means of the ’24 Hours of Daytona,’ also called the ‘Rolex 24 at Daytona’. It is likely one of the hottest occasions within the endurance racing world, and successful drivers every obtain their very own particular Rolex Daytona.
Due to the success of their partnership with Campbell, Rolex determined to increase in motorsport, and so they accelerated their development by partnering with different prime drivers. A great instance of this was Sir Jackie Stewart becoming a member of the Rolex model as an official ambassador in 1968. Sir Jackie Stewart had an illustrious Formulation 1 profession, participating in 99 races and successful 3 world championships (1969, 1971, and 1973). In 2012 he was made Grand Marshal of the 50th anniversary edition of the Rolex 24 At Daytona, 50 years after he was gifted a Rolex Daytona for a legendary victory within the 1968 Monaco Grand Prix.
The particular relationship with Sir Jackie Stewart was invaluable to Rolex. Being aligned with such an iconic F1 driver helped them struggle off fierce competitors from rival watchmakers for the 2012 sponsorship deal. Stewart revealed that he was heavily involved in the deal, and that he was known as by the CEO of F1 on the time, Bernie Ecclestone, to assist join the 2 manufacturers. It’s as if this partnership was merely meant to be.
Formulation 1’s relationship with watchmakers
On the opposite facet of the partnership, Formulation 1 have a particular historical past with watchmakers. Naturally, in a sport the place milliseconds matter, partnerships with prime manufacturers have been frequent. This may be seen at this time as different luxurious watchmakers sponsor F1 drivers and groups. For instance, Richard Mille sponsor each Ferrari and McLaren. Luxurious watches are sometimes donned by drivers, and similar to Rolex did with icons like Campbell and Stewart, many of those manufacturers have partnered with well-liked F1 drivers. Lewis Hamilton’s deal with IWC sees him receive $2 million a year!
The significance of timekeeping within the sport has additionally been highlighted as varied watchmakers have taken on the position of ‘Official Timekeeper’. Heuer have been in command of officiating the timekeeping within the 1970’s, earlier than Longines took management within the 80’s. The rebranded TAG Heuer gained again management within the 1990’s, and Hublot assumed the position earlier than Rolex grew to become the ‘Official Timekeeper,’ from the 2013 season.
Why do Rolex sponsor F1?
Some should still be questioning ‘Why does Rolex sponsor F1?’ so it’s essential to underline once more how particular the partnership is. The partnership marks two manufacturers with intertwined values and histories coming collectively. F1 and Rolex each imply luxurious and they’re undoubtedly within the higher echelons of their respective fields. Being a sport the place there are solely 20 drivers, competing for 10 groups, F1 is aligned with the exclusivity of Rolex. The standard of Rolex watches is another excuse for his or her desirability, and this worth of high quality can be seen in F1- groups are consistently on the lookout for new methods to innovate their automobiles and make them that millisecond sooner.
On a fundamental stage, sponsoring one of many world’s hottest sports activities has apparent advantages, particularly seeing as it’s now breaking into markets everywhere in the world. Being the F1 world accomplice means Rolex get to take pleasure in this development as much more eyes, in much more markets, are on the model.
It’s additionally essential to notice the partnership isn’t merely for present, Rolex are in command of the maintenance of timing tools. As beforehand talked about, F1 races might be determined by a fraction of a second, and proper now you’d battle to discover a model extra dependable than Rolex to assist preserve the accuracy of outcomes.