m
MOTORSPORTS
Rolex
and Formula 1
R
olex’s sponsorship of Formula 1 is strikingly apposite. That the world’s best known luxury watch brand
should share the stage with the motorsport’s most prestigious racing series just seems, well, right.
At Formula One Grand Prix tracks around the world, large Rolex clocks, with their characteristic fluted bezels recalling the those
found on some of Rolex’s iconic watches, give the time.
In 2015, over the course of 19 Grand Prix held in Europe, Asia
and the Americas, 20 drivers from 10 teams competed for the most
prestigious title in motorsport, the Formula 1 season championship.
The winner, Lewis Hamilton, was decided during the 16th race
on the schedule, the United States Grand Prix, held from 25 to 27
September in Austin, Texas. Hamilton and his Mercedes F1 Team
have been a dominant force in the sport over the last several years.
He also won the championship in 2014.
Through its partnership with Formula 1, Rolex reaches a global
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WRISTWATCH | 2016
audience of approximately 425 million viewers in 200 countries
es
each year.
No Rolex Timepiece is as identifiable with motorsport andd the
ack
track as the Daytona, itself named for the legendary Florida track
that plays host to the 24 Hours of Daytona, an endurance race of
which Rolex is also the official timepiece.
In 2013, Rolex commemorated this famous chronograph on the
celet,
occasion of its 50th anniversary with a platinum case and bracelet,
an ice-blue dial, and a ceramic bezel in chestnut brown. This highly
collectible timekeeper, which marks the first time Rolex has made
eap.
a Daytona in the noblest of metals, certainly does not come cheap.
The retail price of Reference 116506 is $75,000.