IWC Fuels F1 Rivalries On Track And Wrist

In auto racing, your teammate is your first and fiercest rival. He’s the one you must beat at all costs. When other teams field superior chassis, engine, and aerodynamic packages, a Formula One driver always can blame his inferior equipment for a bad result. But what of that guy in the same pit stall driving an identical car? No excuses.

Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg have a great deal in common. The Mercedes AMG Petronas Formula One teammates are competitive; they rank second and first, respectively, in the 2016 driver’s championship points standing. Both Hamilton (Fernando Alonso) and Rosberg (Michael Schumacher) found their paths to prominence blocked by touted teammates early in their careers – and both young guns disposed of their vaunted in-house competition in merciless fashion.

IWC Ingenieur Chronograph Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton editions

Thanks their unique relationship with IWC, Hamilton and Rosberg share more than just a pit box; each boasts his own signature IWC Ingenieur Chronograph.

IWC’s partnership with Mercedes-Benz’s AMG high-performance brand actually pre-dates the automaker’s successful return to grand prix racing. The Affalterbach-based automotive tuning giant and Schaffhausen’s foremost watchmaker share a mother tongue (German) and a common interest in high performance machinery. The two-by-250-piece IWC Ingenieur Chronograph Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg editions are a natural extension of that mechanical mind meld.

IWC Ingenieur Chronograph Nico Rosberg Strap

Three-time Formula One driver’s champion Lewis Hamilton demanded a hardcore grey scale aesthetic for his signature chronograph (ref. IW379602). The combination of titanium case and bracelet offers an imposing persona on the wrist, yet the alluring grey metal ensures miniscule weight. Even better, the IWC clasp on Hamilton’s model offers a push-button quick adjustment for easy incremental sizing, and all links are individually removable.

Formula One materials are the key to Hamilton’s personal design vision, and titanium is just the beginning. By specifying a carbon fiber dial, Hamilton ensures that the signature material of modern Formula One constructors enjoys pride-of-place on his personal dream watch. Naturally, a Lewis Hamilton personalized logo adorns the cut-from-the-car carbon fiber caseback.

IWC Ingenieur Chronograph Lewis Hamilton

Nico Rosberg prefers to wear his IWC Ingenieur Chronograph (ref. IW379603) on a strap. But this isn’t standard-issue equipment; IWC invests Rosberg’s strap with an embossed calf skin insert designed to mimic the look of fireproof Nomex coverall fiber while retaining the luxurious texture of leather. A superb natural rubber strap ensures durability and features generous heat-relief channels on its underside.

While Hamilton prefers a carbon dial with white print, Rosberg asked IWC to provide a brilliant combination of bright colors on his watch face. The dial explodes thanks to vertically grained silver plating and chronograph hands bearing Rosberg’s trademark “signal yellow” racing helmet color. Naturally, the son of 1982 Formula One Driver’s Champion Keke Rosberg is eager to make his own mark, and he gets it in the form of a stylized “Nico” signature on the carbon caseback.

IWC Ingenieur Chronograph Nico Rosberg

Like the teammates’ cars themselves, the AMG Formula One special editions are mechanically identical but tailored to suit the unique demands of Hamilton and Rosberg. Both watches replica measure 45mm across their titanium cases; both feature a date, flyback chronograph, and 120-meter water resistance. And both watches replica feature a commemorative swatch of actual Mercedes AMG F1-car carbon fiber from the team’s 2014 championship chassis.

Inside the classic Gerald Genta-inspired IWC Ingenieur cases, IWC’s in-house caliber 89361 automatic powers both driver editions. The movement boasts 38 jewels, super-efficient “Albert Pellaton” pawl-based winding. This system, pioneered by IWC’s legendary lead watchmaker in the early 1950s, remains one of the most robust and effective in the modern technological landscape. And that system energizes a robust 68-hour power reserve that comfortably exceeds the modern standard of 42.

For those who prefer to synchronize their watches replica to a track timer or official race clock, the caliber 89361 features hacking (stop) seconds. A quickset date permits easy corrections should the watch run down.

IWC Ingenieur Chronograph Lewis Hamilton

IWC adds refinement to the caliber 89361 in the form of a free sprung balance operating at a contemporary 28,800 vibrations per hour. The free sprung balance wheel arrangement ensures that both IWC driver editions boast superb resistance to shock-induced timing variation. A slick column wheel/vertical clutch chronograph is crisp and satisfying to control; the vertical clutch ensures seamless seconds hand action without typical horizontal clutch “jump” or “stagger.”

A “monocounter” minute and hour register superimposes these chronograph time scales and keeps the dial uncluttered.

Never lose to your teammate; never yield, never lift, never give an inch. As the 2016 Formula One championship schedule races toward its mid-summer midway mark, Hamilton and Rosberg sprint in lock step at the top of the driver standings. For motorsports mavens who count themselves as watch enthusiasts, this epic rivalry continues off the track at IWC’s official website.