Introducing The Official Mercedes-AMG Petronas Team Chronograph From IWC

As the Formula 1 season enters the 5th race of the season in Miami this weekend, IWC took the opportunity to introduce their first official team watch with partner Mercedes-AMG Petronas. The watch is a Pilot’s Chronograph 41, but there’s a few hard to miss details that separate this watch from other watches in the collection. The team watch was introduced by IWC President Chris Grainger alongside Mercedes-AMG Petronas team boss, Toto Wolff outside the team garage at the Miami Grand Prix, and we had the chance to go hands-on. 

This is the first official Mercedes-AMG Petronas team watch from Mercedes despite their nearly 10 year relationship. That means the watch was built with the help of, and for the benefit of the team in the garage. This led to the use of a satin titanium case which goes a long way in lightening the load of the watch on the wrist. While the 41mm case wears a bit smaller, there’s still plenty of heft to manage in steel variations, but the use of titanium solves the issue beautifully.

At a glance, the Mercedes-AMG Petronas Team Chronograph (this one needs a nickname asap) is quite distinctive thanks to the application of the Mercedes-AMG Petronas color scheme, which is something like laser green that leans toward blue. Every detail of the dial is rendered in this color, atop a matte black base. This one is flying under zero radars; it’s full on Miami and the typically reserved Pilot’s Chronograph is all the better for it. Even the straps get in on the action, with a bright rubber option shipping with the standard black unit. They are easily changed thanks to the quick release system we first saw on the new Big Pilot last year. 

Inside beats IWC’s own 69385 caliber automatic chronograph movement, which is visible through an exhibition caseback. The crystal on the underside even gets a helping of the AMG Petronas green in all the written detail. The watch is not a limited edition, and will be available for purchase through the brand’s online store for all who want one, and it ships immediately. Imagine that.

The AMG-Petronas team watch is built for the racing team, even though it’s a Pilot’s watch, which underscores the borderline uselessness of the labels we like to associate with these things. Sure, it’s not the new Aquatimer or Ingeneur we’ve been waiting for, it’s the most creative execution of the Pilot’s Chronograph to date, and the best of the collection since the Tribute to 3705 if you ask me. 

The IWC Official Mercedes-AMG Petronas Team Chronograph is available for purchase now for the price of $7,850. We’ll have much more from the race coming soon, including a full recap of the Miami GP. IWC.