The Breitling Navitimer was famously worn by some of the biggest names in Formula 1 in the 1960s, including Jim Clark, Graham Hill, and Jackie Oliver. I was surprised to learn that prior to his historic partnership with Jack Heuer, even Jo Siffert had one on his wrist.
Fast forward several decades to 2026, and Breitling is on the Formula 1 grid again through a partnership with the Aston Martin F1 Team. During the buildup to the announcement, I was secretly hoping that a team edition Navitimer would be released. I was not disappointed.
But bookended between these two eras sits a different watch, half-buried in the brand’s Grand Prix racing history.
Previously noted on the Breitling website as dating to the 1990s is a single Chronomat model that featured “Renault F1” on the dial. This sounded like a slam dunk team edition, until a bit of digging revealed that Renault was not competing as a constructor during that decade, but rather as an engine supplier.
Despite the prominence of both names, I still can’t find much information on this piece.