PARTNERSHIPS
Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS Formula One™ Team
As a logical continuation of its partnership with Mercedes-AMG, IWC Schaffhausen became the “Official Engineering Partner” of the Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS Formula OneTM Team in 2013. The partnership is founded on a shared passion for engineering at the highest level and an unwavering commitment to technical excellence. What’s more, both watchmaking and motorsport are built on teamwork and high-performance teams.
The Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS Formula One Team is the works team of Mercedes-AMG, competing at the pinnacle of motorsport – the FIA Formula One™ World Championship. Based across Technology Centres at Brackley and Brixworth in the United Kingdom, the team brings together over 1,000 dedicated people who design, develop, manufacture and race the cars driven by George Russell and Andrea Kimi Antonelli.
As part of the partnership, IWC has produced special-edition watches and official team watches. These models are crafted from robust, durable performance materials, including titanium, ceramic, and Ceratanium®. Highly legible dials and design details in the characteristic PETRONAS-green colour tie them to the team’s identity. The official team watches are also worn trackside by engineers, mechanics or race strategists.
George Russell
Born in Kings Lynn, England, in 1998, Russell began his racing career in karting in 2006. Over the next eight seasons, he became MSA British Cadet Champion, British Open Champion, Super One British Champion, Formula Kart Stars British Champion, and CIK-FIA European Junior Champion, to name just a few. In 2014, he graduated to single-seater racing, claiming the BRDC Formula 4 Championship title at the first attempt, as well as numerous podiums in the Formula Renault 2.0 ALPS Championship.
The following year, he switched to the FIA Formula 3 European Championship™ for the next two seasons, finishing 2016 in third after claiming two wins. In 2017, he joined the junior driver programme of Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS Motorsport and competed in the GP3 Series for ART Grand Prix, taking four victories, seven podiums and four pole positions on his way to winning the Driver’s Championship.
In 2018, he stepped up to Formula Two™, again with ART Grand Prix, winning the championship alongside his role as Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS Motorsport Reserve Driver. The following year he made it to the Formula One™ grid, joining Williams Racing on a multi-year deal. A difficult debut season was followed by an excellent 2020 that saw Russell regularly almost finish in the points for the British team. He continued to drive for Williams in 2021, earning his first points for the team at the Hungarian Grand Prix™, before qualifying second and claiming his first Formula One™ podium finish at the Belgium event.
Kimi Antonelli
More commonly known by his middle name, Andrea “Kimi” Antonelli was born in Bologna, Italy, in 2006. He joined Junior Programme in April 2019, aged 12. That season (2019), Kimi won the WSK Euro Series and Super Master Series titles at OK Junior category. He also finished runner-up in the FIA European Karting Championship, and finished P5 in the World Championship.
Kimi stepped up to the OK Class for 2020, and claimed the FIA Karting European Championship, as well as the WSK Euro Series. The Italian would retain his FIA European Championship in 2021, and got his first taste of single-seater action in Italian Formula 4 with PREMA. In nine races, Kimi achieved three podiums. The German and Italian F4 titles were secured in 2022 thanks to 22 wins, 21 poles and 27 podiums.
A move up to Formula Regional European Championship by Alpine (FRECA) followed for 2023, and Kimi claimed the title at the first attempt thanks to five victories. At the start of the year, he won the Middle Eastern version of the series, too.
After a stellar 2023 season in Formula Regional, Kimi made the jump up to Formula 2 for 2024, becoming the youngest multiple winner in series history after wins at Silverstone and Budapest.
He got his first taste of an F1 weekend when he took part in FP1 at Monza in September.