This weekend marks round 19 of the 2025 Formula season taking place in Austin, Texas at the wonderful Circuit of the Americas. While the Constructor Championship is already in the bag for McLaren, the Driver’s Championship is still very much up for grabs. This weekend, the cars themselves are bringing a bit of drama to the track, with no less than six teams bringing a special livery for the race. Among them is the Visa Cash App Racing Bulls (VCARB) team, with a black and orange tortoise shell motif taking over much of the body real estate. In keeping with this theme, team sponsor Tudor is showing off a new Black Bay Chronograph “Carbon 25” with a dial that matches the cars. Just two of these watches will be produced for drivers Liam Lawson and Isack Hadjar to wear over the course of the weekend.
The Black Bay Chronograph Carbon 25 was introduced earlier this year in partnership with the VCARB F1 team, and was designed after the car’s predominantly white and blue colorway. While we’ve seen carbon in the Pelagos collection before, this was the material’s first appearance in the Black Bay collection. With this latest edition, which will not get a production run, that design takes on a very different personality, with a dial that mirrors the same special livery seen on the car for the Austin GP.
The livery itself was done in collaboration with multi-platinum singer, songwriter and producer Shaboozey. According to the team, “The livery represents VCARB’s ongoing mission to infuse the words of motorsport, music and American culture, all in one striking, speedy, Shaboozey-flavoured statement.” The team also ran a special livery for the Miami GP earlier this year, which you can see in our photo report right here. It’s a car that can lean into some expressive designs thanks to the largely white canvas. Many of the teams generally reserve a few races throughout the season to bring a new look to the car, and keeps the grid a bit more interesting visually.
Okay, but this watch. This is one of the more unique looking Black Bay expressions, maybe ever. The orange, yellow, and black colors come together in what looks a bit like a Rorschach test more than what you might expect from a tortoise shell vibe. It appears to be a repeating pattern that’s been mirrored both horizontally and vertically, which also seems strange on a dial this size. Notably, a winged portion of the design nearly entirely covers the Tudor logo at the top. It’s wildly unexpected, but I think that’s exactly what makes it work in its own way. Strangely, I think a very small production run of this thing would have placed it firmly in cult status for collectors, but that doesn’t seem to be in the cards.
As we look toward the final handful of races of the season, and an entirely new regulation set coming to the sport next season, all we can do is wonder what the team’s car will look like come next February, and how Tudor will follow suit.
