We’re heading into the final stretch of the 2024 Formula 1 season, with the Las Vegas GP kicking off a trio of races that will culminate in Abu Dhabi on December 8th. Both the World Driver’s Championship and the World Constructor Championships are up for grabs in what has turned into a far more competitive season than expected. Check out episode 40 of The Deep Track podcast with Justin Bell for more on the subject. The Visa Cash App RB (VCARB) team is bringing a special livery to the car for the final race in the US, and team sponsor, Tudor, has created a pair of special watches to match for drivers Yuki Tsunoda and Liam Lawson. The watch is a Black Bay Ceramic with a blue and teal dial with a white spatter (or glitter, according to the brand). This is the second such creation from Tudor this season, and like that last time, don’t expect to find these in your local retailer.
Much like the car getting a fresh coat of paint for the weekend, Tudor have swapped in a unique dial to an existing watch, and even made a special strap to match. The color scheme for this weekend replaces the existing white and blue livery with a striking blue/teal gradient with a white glitter dotted throughout. The paint may add a kilo or two to the car (in a weekend they can ill afford it, sitting just 2 points behind HAAS in the Constructor standings, and 5 behind Alpine), but the watches have no such concern, adding plenty of style into the mix without much compromise to the function part.
As big and bright as this dial is, the hour markers and hands get thick black outlines to remain surprisingly legible. Additionally, this Black Bay Ceramic gets Master Chronometer certification from METAS, making for a lightweight, highly accurate watch. A fitting mix of attributes given the theme here. This is a dial and strap that I suspect would be quite popular in a commercial setting, however Tudor will only be producing two examples of this watch for the drivers to be worn during the events surrounding the race this weekend.
All of the watches created by Tudor around their relationship with the VCARB team have been Black Bay Ceramic models. It would be fun to see some of these creative exercises in other collections, particularly in light of their carbon composite chronograph watches in the FXD family, which would feel quite fitting to the relationship with racing. In fact, both of the FXD chronographs were produced around the brand’s relationship with other racing outfits (cycling and yacht racing), so the precedent is there. Next season should offer a great opportunity for more unique releases, even as the team is still searching for a second driver alongside Yuki Tsunoda.
The Las Vegas Grand Prix will be taking place Sunday morning at 1am EST, you can keep an eye out for both of these watches on the wrists of their drivers throughout the weekend. Tudor