Richard Mille Partnerships in F1

The Richard Mille brand was first developed in 1999 by Richard Mille in a partnership with Montres Valgine and Audemars Piguet, with the RM 001 Tourbillon introduced to the world at Baselworld in 2001. The Swiss brand is well known for their nontraditional marketing and is often described as “” racing machine on the wrist,” reflecting its integration of motorsport materials, engineering, and partnerships.

Prior to launching his own brand, Mille has also previously worked for Yema in the early 1980s before the French brand was acquired by Seiko in 1986.

Partnership Overview with Formula 1 Teams and Drivers

Richard Mille began investing in automobile events in 2002, eventually reaching Formula 1. Since 2013, the brand has sponsored teams including Lotus F1, Haas F1, Sauber (as Alfa Romeo), McLaren, and Ferrari.

Their driver roster has also included Jules Bianchi, Fernando Alonso, Kimi Raikönnen, Charles Leclerc, Romain Grosjean, Mick Schumacher, and Felipe Massa.

Inside the F1 Cockpit

Richard Mille timepieces have the distinction of sometimes being worn by modern era F1 drivers not only during testing, but in races. One example was Massa’s 2009 accident at the Hugarian Grand Prix, and there is speculation that Grosjean may have had a watch on during his fiery crash in Bahrain in 2020.

While wearing watches inside the cockpit was once commonplace in the early decades of Grand Prix racing, the practice had been considered dangerous by the 1970s due to fire-related concerns. Despite improvements in fire-retardant suits, there was no widespread resurgence in wearing watches during competition. A jewelry ban was established by the FIA in 2005, followed by the inclusion of watches in 2022.

Felipe Massa Editions

Massa in particular has played a major role with the brand, with their partnership starting in 2004. The RM 006 Tourbillon Felipe Massa was released in the same year, and was the first of several Richard Mille models to bear his name. This was followed by the RM 05 (2005), RM 009 (2005), RM 011 (2007), RM 004-V2 in two colors (2009), RM 008-V2 in two colors (2009) RM 050 (2012), RM 011 Carbon (2012), and RM 056 (2012).

Jean Todt Editions

Richard Mille’s association with Formula 1 isn’t limited to only teams and drivers, as demonstrated by models such as the Tourbillon G-sensor RM-036 Jean Todt Limited Edition that was announced in late 2012 and unveiled at the Salon International de la Haute Horlogerie Genève in 2013. This was the first of several timepieces made in honor of the former Ferrari team principal and ninth president of the FIA.

Jean Todt and Felipe Massa. (Photo: ITU Pictures, licensed under CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons)

Romain Grosjean Editions

The partnership with Romain Grosjean was announced in 2013. The first co-branded piece was the RM 011 Lotus F1 Team-Romain Grosjean in carbon NTPT®, which the Swiss-French driver was documented as wearing in 2014 during preseason testing.

Also announced in 2014 was the RM 50-01 Tourbillon Chronograph G-sensor Lotus F1 Team Romain Grosjean, which had a production run of 30 pieces.

Charles Leclerc Editions

Richard Mille first supported Monegasque driver Charles Leclerc in 2009 while still in his karting career. The RM 67-02 Charles Leclerc was unveiled in September of 2021 after starting their partnership with Scuderia Ferrari. An RM 67-02 Charles Leclerc prototype was sold for CHF 2,100,000 at a Christie’s auction in November of the same year, via Only Watch.

In 2022, an RM 67-02 that was specifically made for Leclerc was stolen off his wrist in Italy.

The RM72-01 ‘Charles Leclerc’ was soft launched leading up to the 2025 Monaco Grand Prix, quietly appearing on Leclerc’s wrists on social media posts. The limited edition has a production run of 150 pieces, and was the first ever production signature model created for Leclerc.

Alain Prost Edition

Four time F1 world champion Alain Prost, who is also an avid cyclist, began a partnership with Richard Mille in 2013. Prost’s signature RM 70-01 was revealed in 2017, featuring a mechanical odometer and specifically designed to be worn on the right wrist. The unique timepiece had limited production run of 30 pieces.

Fernando Alonso Prototype

A partnership with Fernando Alonso was formed in 2017, with the RM 67-02 Fernando Alonso prototype was created for the two-time World Champion.

Kimi Räikkönen Edition

The RM 50-04 Tourbillon Split-Seconds Chronograph Kimi Räikkönen was released in 2019, in celebration of the Finnish driver’s move to Alfa Romeo. The driver edition had a limited run of 30 pieces, and was unveiled at the 2019 Singapore Grand Prix.

McLaren Sponsorship and Team Edition

After the conclusion of a three-decade partnership with TAG Heuer, McLaren signed a 10-year agreement with Richard Mille in 2016. The first watch was the RM 50-03 Tourbillon Split-Seconds Chronograph McLaren F1, a collaboration with the McLaren F1 team and the University of Manchester. Announced in 2017, the exclusive timepiece was limited to 75 pieces. Several subsequent timepieces were also inspired by various McLaren road cars.