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Tag Heuer Takes Over Race Week in Miami to Celebrate Formula One
MIAMI — Race car fever took over Miami as the Formula One festival kicked off this past weekend, marking the sixth race of the F1 season.
A street-track spectacular, the third edition of the F1 Crypto.com Miami Grand Prix was set in the Hard Rock Stadium complex in Miami Gardens. For this year’s race, the track was the end result of a development process that simulated no less than 36 different layouts before settling on a 19-turn lap that provided a street circuit vibe, not dissimilar to Melbourne’s Albert Park.
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Sponsor activation picked up the pace heading into the three-day event as Swiss luxury watchmaker Tag Heuer took over race week both on and off the track with a series of events, including a pop-up event featuring the Oracle Red Bull Racing show car, the official release of a Formula 1 watch in partnership with Kith, as well as a private celebratory dinner in honor of the watch’s release.
Tag Heuer is the long-standing official timekeeper of Red Bull Racing, and this year the watchmaker took to Miami Design District’s Palm Court with a display of the Oracle Red Bull Racing Formula 1 RB20 show car, which was set out for viewers on a circular plinth that was a nod to the Tag Heuer Formula 1 Collection, decked out with bold racing accents inspired by the watch faces.
Although the show car remained on display all weekend, Mexican F1 driver Checo Pérez on Thursday greeted fans ahead of race weekend. Pérez, who is part of the Oracle Red Bull Racing team, was joined by Tag Heuer chief executive officer Julien Tornare, chief marketing officer George Ciz, president of the Americas Beatrice Goasglas, and by Kith CEO and founder Ronnie Fieg.
In a first and only done for the Miami leg of the F1 circuit, Oracle Red Bull Racing drivers Max Verstappen and Pérez updated their race suits and race car livery with the new Kith/Tag Heuer logo to mark the collaboration and relaunch of the original Tag Heuer Formula 1 watches.
Originally introduced in 1986, the Tag Heuer Formula 1 was an affordable and cheerful sports watch recognizable to anyone who grew up in the ’80s and ’90s. The Swiss brand unveiled the Formula 1 Kith Limited Edition, a faithful remake of the original Series 1 model, created in tandem with streetwear label Kith. Offered in 10 colorful variants, the new Formula 1 is branded “Kith Heuer” in a nod to the collaboration, with the fashion label’s emblem replacing the customary “Tag” in the watchmaker’s shield logo.
This marks the first time in the brand’s history that it has merged its logo with another company’s. “Many brands would never, ever touch their logo, and I think it’s in our avant garde and innovative spirit that we dared to do it. We think it’s an added value for us to feel free to do it,” said Tornare.
The watch was available for purchase first at both Tag Heuer’s and Kith’s locales during race weekend, which are both located in the Miami Design District, with eager fans camping out the day before release day.
“I think it’s part of the coolness of our brand to do such a partnership. Not many brands would do or could do that. It’s such a different watch from everything you have on the market and it’s a good refresh of people’s memories, from the ’80s and the ’90s,” said Tornare. “I think the fact that we came back with this and with Kith makes it even more exciting. For us, it’s the beginning of a strong comeback and we have more projects to come. But I think starting with Kith to relaunch that was a very good idea, and I am really happy about it.”
On Friday evening, the Swiss brand held a private dinner at the Rubell Museum in celebration of Kith collaboration which was cohosted by CEO of LVMH Watches Frédéric Arnault, Tornare and Fieg.
The event included guests such as Tag Heuer ambassadors Alexandra Daddario and Fred Kerley, actress and model Valentina Ferrer, actress Lily Chee, former NFL star Victor Cruz, NBA stars Kevin Love and Jonathan Kuminga, actor Gabriel Leone, Kevin O’Leary and entrepreneur and hospitality magnate David Grutman.
“I love Kith and Tag Heuer, and when I saw that they were collaborating I couldn’t have been more excited and what they made was incredible. The watches are gorgeous, and they’re just two really strong companies that are run by amazing people and their products are incredible. So to be part of that is really cool. There’s a huge history to Tag Heuer — it’s a sexy brand, it’s obviously associated with racing and fun, it’s sophisticated and it’s just a really elegant thing to have and every time I put a watch on from the brand, I feel like a different person,” said Daddario.
“I love the collaboration and what it’s rooted in the racing and F1 world, but also what it’s rooted in for Ronnie with Kith, specifically given that he wore these watches in the late ’80s and ’90s when he was growing up. And now to bring it all full circle, which he typically does, as he does a good job of storytelling with a lot of his collaborations, so this is no different,” said Cruz.
The celebration concluded with a surprise performance by musician Justine Skye.
“It is a very special collection and I think that it personifies the relationship that our brand has with the racing and with the F1 racing. This is such a big part of who we are. So, yes, it’s truly iconic. It went through a massive evolution, there are lots of different sizes, chronographs, quartzes, mechanicals, there is a wide spectrum. It’s also the biggest collection we have in terms of the volume so we have many more [stock keeping units], and we have exciting plans for the collection. It will continue to be a big pillar of what we do. It’s an easy way to tell the story of Tag Heuer through this collection because racing is such a big part of our DNA,” said Ciz.
“We plan strategically but we are also quite prepared to be agile when we need to. We definitely have some more plans in Miami specifically. It’s all about the right time and the right place,” he added.
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