A Classic Entry-Level Chronograph Just Received Some Massive Improvements

TAG Heuer proves that its auto racing heritage is still alive and well.

By Brad Lanphear

Published January 22, 2025

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TAG Heuer has reason to celebrate in 2025.

a red and black watch dial — The new Formula 1 Chronograph has titanium case.

This year marks 40 years since Techniques d’Avant Garde acquired Heuer Watchmaking and rebranded it as TAG Heuer. The brand has also overtaken Rolex this year as the Official Timekeeper of Formula 1 through a 10-year sponsorship contract between the racing league and TAG Heuer’s parent company, LVMH.

Add in the fact that this year is Formula 1’s 75th anniversary, and it only makes sense to celebrate with a brand-new watch — or more accurately, a massively upgraded addition to a partnership that goes back decades.

A long and winding road

TAG Heuer and Formula 1 have a divisive history. In 1985, a collaboration with the European auto racing league was one of the first watches to emerge from the reorganized TAG Heuer. It was a line of affordable quartz divers built from plastic and offered in a wide range of bold color combinations.

a group of colorful TAG Heuer watches — TAG Heuer and Kith brought back the original Formula 1 in 2024.

Many Heuer fans saw this as an affront to the prestigious heritage of the brand’s mid-twentieth-century tool watches. Racing-inspired chronographs from that era, like the Autavia, Carrera and Monaco, held elite status in Swiss timekeeping.

Yet these flimsy, bodacious watches sold well through the 1980s and 1990s and, along with the mid-tier Professional line of dive watches and chronographs, helped make TAG Heuer one of the world’s most well-known watchmakers. This successful collaboration eventually evolved into a line of quartz and entry-level mechanical chronographs in the 2000s.

a black watch with a red band — The new Formula 1 Chronograph has a minimalist coloring, with a single accent color on matte black.

Even as the horological community took shots at the TAG Heuer for questionable design decisions in the 2000s and early 2010s, the old Formula 1 watches became trendy on the vintage market. Abundant availability, cheap prices, fun colors and an intriguing backstory created a perfect storm for watch thrifting. This eventually led to a collaboration with Kith to briefly revive the line in 2024 to broad acclaim, a full-circle moment for the Formula 1.

An upgrade worthy of the occasion

TAG Heuer is taking its place at the top of the Formula 1 podium at a great time. The global racing league has finally broken through in America and solidified itself as not only the top auto racing league on the planet but also one of the fastest-growing professional sports leagues in the world.

a black and yellow watch — The yellow color option will be available later in 2025.

It is safe to say that the TAG Heuer Formula 1 Chronograph has received an upgrade worthy of the occasion.

The completely reimagined entry-level chronograph now features a case is made from grade 2 titanium, with three of the models also boasting a matte black DLC coating. All four standard models have the same DLC coating on the screw-down crown, pushers and fixed tachymeter bezel.

A completely new case design blends sharp angles with rounded surfaces in an attempt to emulate the aerodynamic shape of Formula 1 cars. The 44mm case wears smaller than it looks thanks to a relatively short 47mm lug-to-lug, which is further smoothed off by an integrated rubber strap.

close up of a black and red watch dial — TAG Heuer’s new Formula 1 Chronograph runs on the in-house Caliber 16 movement.

Under the hood is TAG Heuer’s Caliber 16 movement, based on the ETA 7750, with seconds sub-dial at nine o’clock. The matte black background of the dial is accented with a single color on the chronograph hands, outer dial, crown and bezel. Only red is available upon release, with neon blue and yellow options coming later in the year.

The even-better special edition

To put some icing on this cake, TAG Heuer also collaborated with the Oracle Red Bull Racing team — its longtime F1 partner — on a special edition version of the new Formula 1 Chronograph. The dial has a blue and black checkered flag texture and is accented with the red and yellow team colors.

case back of a watch — The Oracle Red Bull Racing logo is tastefully only featured on the case back.

A fully titanium case, including the crown and pushers, has been sandblasted for the same rough texture as the DLC-coated standard models. The Oracle Red Bull Racing logo is tastefully placed on the screw-down case back, along with a declaration of the watch’s “special edition” status.

While this is definitely the flashiest entry in the new lineup, it still has a more discrete look than the original TAG Heuer Formula 1 watches or even the more recent Formula 1 Chronographs. Through its long and storied history with the auto racing league, this is arguably the closest TAG Heuer’s Formula 1 watches have come to the Heuer racing chronographs that originally made the brand famous.

Pricing and Availability

Three models of the new TAG Heuer Formula 1 Chronograph are available at the time of launch. There is a matte black case with red detailing and strap for $4,900, a titanium case with a black dial and strap and red accents for $4,700, and the special edition Oracle Red Bull Racing model for $5,450.

a black and blue watch — The blue accented model will be available later in 2025.

Two more color options will become available later this year. Both have a matte black case, dial, and strap. One features blue accents, and the other yellow.

If you purchase from the TAG Heuer website, each watch comes with a complimentary leather travel case.