Why the return of the TAG Heuer Formula 1 is perfectly timed for pole position

Thanks in large part to the binge-worthy nature of the Netflix series Drive to Survive and the increasingly fashionable looks worn by drivers off-track (we’re looking at you, Lewis Hamilton), our collective obsession with Formula 1 is at its peak. Well before this cultural shift began, a sartorial statement linked to Formula 1 captivated the world’s attention. We’re speaking of TAG Heuer’s Formula 1 collection. Launched in 1986, the vibrant series of accessibly-priced watches became instant icons (“I definitely had to have one,” quips our editor in chief, Martina Bonnier).

The official timekeeper of Formula 1, TAG Heuer’s relationship to motorsport runs deep (over the years the brand has also been a sponsor for both Ferrari and McLaren). Now, nearly 40 years after the original was released, the Swiss watch giant launches the TAG Heuer Formula 1 Solargraph, capitalising on both the fever-pitch excitement around the sport and our penchant for poppy '80s throwbacks.

While the original Formula 1, which officially launched the TAG Heuer name, was an everyman watch – an affordable quartz piece that brought a bold pop of colour to any look (choose your flavour – it came in an array of F1-themed colours), the new TAG Heuer Formula 1 Solargraph is something a bit more elevated and rarified. Crafted in either matte-black stainless steel or the brand’s own TH-Polylight polyamide plastic, the silhouette of the watch has been modernised (much like an F1 car update, come to think of it) for a sleeker look, marked by poppier colours (not to mention a slightly bigger size – 38mm as compared the original, which ranged from 28 - 34mm). As its name suggests, it also features the brand’s new Solargraph technology, which allows the watch’s battery to recharge in just minutes of exposure to sunlight or artificial light.

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The watch comes in nine vibrant colourways. While two iterations are already available – a classic deep blue and a white face with red details – what are sure to be the most collectable colourways (not-so-subtly nodding to the colours of our favourite F1 teams) will drop as the Formula 1 season unfolds.

Danish watch aficionado Kristian Haagen confirms the omnipresence of the original. “If you were born in the 1970s, there’s a big chance that you have a TAG Heuer F1 back in a drawer somewhere,” he says. “It was such a popular watch when it was introduced in the 1980s.” For Haagen, the watch can thank its “strong return” in part to the addition of the Solargraph technology and in part to the slightly increased size. “A brilliant watch from the fastest watch brand out there,” he says. He’s right – with the perfect conditions for this watch’s triumphant return, it’s truly a ‘blink and you’ll miss it’ moment.