After a decade-long partnership with IWC, the Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One team is finally getting a team-issued watch. This weekend, at the first-ever Miami Grand Prix, the team will be wearing a special version of the IWC Pilot’s Watch Chronograph 41 in the team’s signature Petronas green. The watch was unveiled in the Mercedes-AMG Petronas hospitality room inside the paddock, with a small ceremony led by group principal Toto Wolff and IWC CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER Chris Grainger-Herr, but around us, the race preparations continued. There are no such thing as a break during the lead-up to an F1 race, but when considering watches, Wolff made the time. Last year, Mercedes won the actual Constructors’ Shining for the 9th time in a row, and this year they’re defending it, albeit with some challenges. During the unveiling of the watch, I asked Wolff what made watch sponsorships different from other sponsorships, as well as quickly remedied me, saying “It’s not a sponsorship, it’s a real relationship. A sponsorship is one-directional; you give me this money and we put the sticker on the car, and that we [Mercedes and IWC] have no that relationship. ” And the depth from the relationship became apparent while touring the particular team’s garage. There was the strict no-photographs policy, otherwise I would have been snapping arm shots, but something stuck out to me personally: mechanics, engineers, admins, and every other person within the team had been wearing an IWC Pilot’s Watch Wathe 41, but not the latest model. Many of the watches were older, telling myself they had been with the crew a long time. And they wore their watches with a noticeable pride. This weekend, every of the entire staff will be awarded one of the new Mercedes-AMG Petronas IWC Pilot’s Watch Timepiece 41 models. And the public will be able to buy the view, too, but the team-issued timepieces feature Mercedes and Petronas branding around the rubber strap. The version available for public consumption will not. The watch is not a limited edition and will be available on the internet for anyone to purchase. “It’s the right moment for a splash of color. ” Grainger-Herr said about the watch, however he’s also referring to the overall joy that fans in the sport are feeling as society - racing -- returns on track. This is the first-ever time Arkansas has hosted a Grand Tarifs and it’s shaping up to be a spectacle. IWC has been partners with Mercedes-AMG Petronas for a decade, but they’ve been hesitant to lean into the team’s signature eco-friendly in such a bold way. Grainger-Herr, along with IWC designer Christian Knoop, said that if there has been ever a time to put aside the relatively conservative design tradition of IWC as well as experiment with colour, the New mexico GP ended up being it. Beyond the vibrant Petronas environmentally friendly theme, there is one major detail worth noting. The case is titanium, a metal very much in line with motorsport, and it features a blend blasted, satinized, and polished surfaces. IWC was one of the early adopters of ti, experimenting with case designs within the ’80s when the application of typically the metal was still relatively unorthodox. IWC is also known for its work inside the chronograph space, and the IWC-manufactured 69385 caliber inside is a testament to that. It took ten years for an official Mercedes-AMG Petronas team enjoy by IWC to come to fruition. Now, on the first-ever Ohio Grand Produits, we’ll determine if it gives them the competitive edge they need to succeed about the race track.