As the Official Watch Partner of Aston Martin and its Aramco Formula One Team, Breitling marks its formal debut in Formula One and returns to the track after a five year hiatus.
On 9 February, the Breitling logo debuts alongside the AMR26, appearing on both the car and team apparel. This partnership launch is paired with the release of the Navitimer B01 Chronograph 43 Aston Martin Aramco Formula One Team. The collaboration will officially hit the track at the Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne from 6 to 8 March.
The Swiss watchmaker previously enjoyed a long-term partnership with Bentley which saw them as official sponsors of their GT3 sports car and endurance racing teams. Aside from wrist watches, Breitling also supplied the dash clocks of various Bentley automobiles during this period.
United by speed, the limited-edition watch captures the shared passion for motorsport between the two luxury brands—a connection rooted in past collaborations.
Adrian Hallmark, Aston Martin’s CEO, notes, ‘Aston Martin and Breitling have intersected at pivotal moments in design and culture,’ such as the Breitling Top Time and Aston Martin DB5 featured in the 1965 James Bond film Thunderball. What began as a cultural overlap has evolved into a strategic alliance.
Given their motorsport legacy, this partnership is natural. In 1907, Léon Breitling launched the Vitesse, a chronograph measuring speeds up to 250 miles or kilometres per hour. The 1952 Navitimer introduced a pilot-oriented slide-rule wristwatch that found use in racing, worn by legends like Graham Hill to track time, speed, and distance—coinciding with Aston Martin’s entry into Formula 1.
This history makes Breitling’s return to top-tier motorsport with Aston Martin a fitting tribute, celebrated through the Navitimer.
For the first time, this Navitimer model boasts a titanium 43mm case, nearly half the weight of its stainless-steel counterpart. The sapphire crystal caseback exposes the intricate automatic movement, while its ring is engraved with ‘One of 1959’ and ‘Instruments for Divers.’
The dial, crafted from carbon fibre—a key racing car component—evokes motorsport and F1 cockpits. Inspired by Aston Martin Aramco’s livery, green accents punctuate the black dial, with Super-Lumi Nova on the hour and minute hands and indices glowing green for night visibility.
A vivid lime green seconds hand stands out vividly. The 30-minute counter at 3 o’clock and the ¼-second counter at 9 o’clock flank the 12-hour sub-dial at 6 o’clock, which also houses a date window. White sub-dials enhance legibility.
Powered by the COSC-certified, in-house Calibre 01 automatic movement visible through the sapphire caseback, the watch boasts a 70-hour power reserve. Its matte black PVD-coated tungsten rotor features the winged Aston Martin Formula One Team emblem.
