formula 1

Steinmetz Encrusts McLaren Gear with Diamonds for Monaco Grand Prix

Filed under: Jewelry, Luxury Cars & Autos, Sports

In the fast-paced, weight-obsessed, space-age world of Formula One racing, there's not much room for ornamentation. Except maybe in Monaco, the most glamorous race on the calendar. That's where the F1 circus is heading this weekend, and it's also where Steinmetz Diamonds will be unveiling a unique tribute to the McLaren team and its world champion drivers.

Steimetz has taken the helmets and steering wheels of both Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button, and embellished them with Forevermark diamonds. The pieces were unveiled at Villa la Vigie – once owned by Karl Lagerfeld and now the home of the Steinmetz Salon Privé – on Wednesday. Both world champions – Button 2009 and Lewis 2008 – will be sporting their diamond-encrusted helmets and steering wheels at this weekend's grand prix, where Hamilton, for one, hopes to recreate his 2008 Monaco GP win, where he also wore Steinmetz diamonds on his helmet.

Gallery: McLaren helmets and steering wheels by Steinmetz

Tags: diamonds, f1, formula 1, formula one, grand prix, jenson button, lewis hamilton, mclaren, monaco, monaco gp, monaco grand prix, monte carlo, steinmetz, villa la vigie

F1 Champion Fernando Alono's Thumbs Insured for $14 million

by Noah Joseph (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Celebrity Shopping, Sports

The world has no shortage of celebrity performers insuring their limbs for all they're worth. Soccer star David Beckham reportedly has a $70 million policy out on his legs and feet. Michael "Lord of the Dance" Flatley's legs are insured for $39 million. And Heidi Klum's are insured for $2.2 million. Fernando Alonso, however, went a different route.

The latest reports indicate that the two-time Formula One world champion – who recently took possession of some serious wheels for on-road use – has taken out a $14 million policy... on his thumbs. The insurance is provided by Santander, the firm that sponsored him when he was at McLaren and has since followed him to Ferrari. According to the company, the importance of Alono's thumbs extend beyond his driving skills, and stand as a symbol of his dominance in the sport.

Source

Tags: abbey santander, alonso, f1, fernando alonso, ferrari, formula 1, formula one, insurance, insurance policy, santander, thumbs

Hublot F1 King Power Revealed During Chinese Grand Prix

by Noah Joseph (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Timepieces / Watches

After securing a lucrative merchandizing agreement with Formula One Management last month, Swiss watchmaker Hublot revealed the F1 King. But if its decidedly lackluster, monochromatic design didn't do it for you, this very well might.

Presented in Shanghai during this past weekend's Chinese Grand Prix, the F1 King Power is packed with racing-inspired design touches. Its ceramic bezel is designed after an F1 car's brake disc. The automatic chronograph movement's push-buttons are styled after the high-tech steering wheel on an F1 car. Even the wrist strap is made of fire-retardant Nomex, just like an F1 driver's racing suite. The case itself is made of satin-finish zirconium and affixed with PVD-coated titanium components, and features a 42-hour power reserve. The Hublot F1 King Power will only be made in limited quantities, so interested parties had better act fast.

Gallery: Hublot F1 King Power

Tags: f1, f1 king power, formula 1, formula one, hublot, hublot f1 king power, time piece, watch, wrist watch

The Classicist: Celebrating TAG Heuer's 150th Anniversary

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Timepieces / Watches, Books, The Classicist

Swiss watchmaker TAG Heuer celebrates its 150th anniversary making horological history this year, marked by the publication of a brilliant new book by Nick Foulkes from Assouline. TAG Heuer begins in the middle years of the 19th century when a Swiss shoemaker's son called Edouard Heuer made the decision to "turn his life over to the conquest and calibration of the passing hours, minutes, seconds and fractions of seconds; marking their passage with the tiny incremental movements of the blued steel hand of a chronograph against the crisp white enamel dial of the pocket watch." From childhood Edouard was "dazzled by the dream of conquering time and imprisoning it in ever more precise and advanced mechanical timepieces," Foulkes writes. In 1882 Heuer introduced his first chronograph, setting a benchmark for extreme accuracy that continues today, and by the early 20th century he had moved the chronograph from the pocket onto the wrist.

TAG Heuer was the first watchmaker to master chronographs with an unsurpassed precision of 1/10th, 1/100th and 1/1,000th of a second. From the Olympic Games in the 1920s to its role as official timekeeper for the legendary Indy 500 and involvement in actor Steve McQueen's racing film Le Mans, to its quarter-century partnership with Formula 1 team Vodafone McLaren Mercedes, it has a long established connection to the world of sports. However, Foulkes notes, the brand's identity has also "always been influenced by the biggest names in architecture, art, and avant garde design of each generation." Organized by year, each page of the book offers a stunning view of a TAG Heuer timepiece and its historic counterpart interspersed with vintage photographs of the founding and making of the famed brand.

Gallery: 150 Years of TAG Heuer

Tags: Assouline, chronograph, Formula 1, LVMH, motor racing, Nick Foulkes, Switzerland, TAG Heuer, watches, watchmaker

Continue reading “The Classicist: Celebrating TAG Heuer's 150th Anniversary”

Hublot F1 King: The Official Watch of Formula One

by Noah Joseph (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Timepieces / Watches, Luxury Cars & Autos

The F1 season kicked off this past weekend in Bahrain. But in addition to the race action, Formula One Management signed there a new commercial agreement with Swiss watchmaker Hublot. The arrangement gives Hublot the right to use the F1 name commercially, and will see the brand represented at select races with unique hospitality events throughout the year. But more than that, it means that Hublot will begin marketing a special F1-branded line of watches.

The first example is what you see here: the Hublot F1 King. The opposite of the kind of bling you'd typically associate with grand prix racing, the timepiece is based on the King Power model, with everything blacked out for a sleek, matte look. Only 500 examples, each individually numbered, will be on offer before Hublot unveils its next F1 edition.

Gallery: Hublot F1 King

Tags: f1, formula 1, formula one, formula one management, hublot, hublot f1 king

Mercedes-Benz Shows Off SLS AMG F1 Safety Car

by Jeremy Korzeniewski (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Cars & Autos

Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG F1 Safety Car – Click above for high-res image gallery

Sometimes, speed equals safety. Perhaps nowhere else is that more true than on a racetrack when you're piloting the so-called safety car and you've got a pack of Formula One cars riding up your tailpipe. Good thing, then, that the newest safety car to be used for F1 duty is the 571-horsepower Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG.

Interestingly, that tailpipe is the only mechanical change made to the SLS AMG to bring it up to Official F1 Safety Car specs. Mercedes-Benz left everything else on the car, including the engine, suspension and carbon-ceramic brakes, stock. Not that you won't be able to tell the difference between the Safety Car and a standard Gullwing – a new carbon fiber hood with front-mounted camera, rear number plate with a camera and 700 LEDs and an "aerodynamically optimised roof light bar" (for the first time using all LEDs) ensure nobody can miss this particular SLS AMG.

For what it's worth, the SLS AMG replaces the SL63 AMG, which had been the Official Safety Car for the previous two seasons. Again, the F1 Safety Car will be piloted by former DTM driver Bernd Mayländer. Also, the Mercedes-Benz C63 AMG Estate (that's wagon to us Americans) will serve as the Official F1 Medical Car. Let's hope that one doesn't see too much track time, eh? Click past the break for the official press release.

Gallery: Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG F1 Safety Car

[Source: Mercedes-Benz]

Tags: f1, f1 safety car, F1SafetyCar, formula 1, formula one, formula one safety car, Formula1, FormulaOne, FormulaOneSafetyCar, mercedes, mercedes-benz, mercedes-benz sls amg, Mercedes-benzSlsAmg, sls amg, sls amg gullwing, SlsAmg, SlsAmgGullwing

Continue reading “Mercedes-Benz Shows Off SLS AMG F1 Safety Car”

World Champion's Father Establishes GP Prep Drivers Academy

by Noah Joseph (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Cars & Autos

If you want to get behind the wheel of a formula racing car, there is no shortage of advanced driving schools that would be glad to give you the opportunity. But at the top of the totem pole sits the new GP Prep Drivers Academy.

The program is being established by Anthony Hamilton, who as manager and father of 2008 Formula One World Champion Lewis Hamilton, knows a thing or two about coaching aspiring drivers. The academy was born out of a need to provide new drivers with testing opportunities on their way up to Formula One, trying to get around the tight regulations that prohibit mid-season testing sessions.

Hamilton's in the process of leasing a fleet of retired 2009 F1 cars from various teams, starting with McLaren. The price for running one of GP Prep's test sessions, though, will reportedly approach the cost of campaigning a full grand prix weekend, which means millions of dollars for a bit of track time. Hey, nobody said F1 was cheap.

Source

Tags: anthony hamilton, AnthonyHamilton, f1, formula 1, formula one, Formula1, FormulaOne, gp, gp prep, gp prep drivers academy, GpPrep, GpPrepDriversAcademy, hamilton, lewis hamilton, LewisHamilton

The Ultimate F1 Chair

by Noah Joseph (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Decor, Luxury Cars & Autos

We've seen our fair share of furniture designed to look like cars, but this one's got to take the cake. Created by Bulgarian interior designer Alexander Christoff, this chair was styled to look like a Formula One race car, but ergonomically shaped to cradle the contours of the human body instead of accelerate down straightaways and grip around hairpin turns.

It's made of fiberglass with chrome legs at the back and an adjustable, upholstered headrest. No word on availability, but as we've discovered, everything's available...for a price. And short of a megayacht in the Monte Carlo harbor, we can't think of a better place to watch the Monaco Grand Prix this year.

Gallery: F1 chair by Alexander Christoff

Source

Tags: alexander christoff, AlexanderChristoff, chair, f1, formula 1, formula one, Formula1, FormulaOne, furniture, lounge

Flavio Briatore Seeks His Day in Court

by Noah Joseph (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Sports, Crimes and Misdemeanors

It's hard to feel bad for Flavio Briatore. The billionaire playboy is credited with expanding the Benetton empire around the world, and then went on to manage its Formula One racing team. When French automaker Renault bought the team, he became team principal, taking on a public role within the glamorous sport. Along the way he also started a handful of other racing series, acquired an English football club, opened luxurious resorts around the world under the Billionaire brand and proceeded to date some of the most glamorous models and actresses on the world stage, fathering a child with none other than Heidi Klum. But his career came to a grinding halt last year with the so-called "crash-gate" affair.

According to accusations, Briatore ordered his driver Nelson Piquet Jr to crash in the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix, helping his team-mate Fernandlo Alonso win the race. Briatore was both boss and manager to both drivers, and when Piquet blew the whistle, Flavio was kicked out of the sport by the Federation Internationale de l'Automobile, the international governing body that supervises the sport.

Briatore has since won an appeal against the FIA in French courts, but says he'll never manage another F1 team again. Instead, he's suing the FIA again for damages caused to his reputation and to his driver management business. He may be cleared to race again, but Briatore's out for blood.

Source

Tags: billionaire, briatore, crash gate, CrashGate, f1, federation internationale de lautomobile, FederationInternationaleDeLautomobile, fia, flavio briatore, FlavioBriatore, formula 1, formula one, Formula1, FormulaOne, renault, renault f1, RenaultF1

$1.5 Monaco Grand Prix Gift Package With Custom Supercar

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Yachts & Sailing, Luxury Cars & Autos, Wings, Events, Sports, Holiday Guides, Wealth

Last month we reported that the glossy chronicle of the filthy rich Robb Report is offering the world's most expensive Christmas gift this year - a matching custom private jet and megayacht set costing $500 million. The profligate publication has a few more eye-popping offerings as part of its Ultimate Gift Guide, a seasonal smorgasbord of over-the-top exclusives. Among the most enticing is a $1.5 million Monaco Grand Prix gift package, consisting of the following: a VIP experience at the 2010 Monaco Grand Prix F1 races in May; round-trip private jet travel from North America to Nice, France, and helicopter transfer from Nice to Monte Carlo for a party of four; five nights' accommodation in the top-floor suite at the luxe Monte Carlo Bay Hotel & Resort; privileges aboard a private 170-ft. yacht that will provide a prime vantage of, and tender service to, four days of racing and activities; and last but not least a custom Spyker C8 Aileron Spyder (above) "as a keepsake".

Tags: Christmas, Formula 1, Formula1, France, holiday 2009, Holiday2009, Monaco, Monaco Grand Prix, MonacoGrandPrix, Monte Carlo, Monte Carlo Bay Hotel Resort, MonteCarlo, MonteCarloBayHotelResort, private jet, PrivateJet, racing, Robb Report, RobbReport, Spyker, yacht

BMW Reportedly Defrauded in Formula One Sale

by Noah Joseph (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Cars & Autos, Sports, Crimes and Misdemeanors

Back in 2005, BMW shocked the Formula One racing world by announcing it would leave its longtime partner Williams F1 in order to acquire its rival Sauber. But after four years of racing, the economy tanked and the coffers ran dry. BMW announced it would withdraw from the sport, leaving Sauber to look for a new investor.

A new investor was found, but reports now indicate that the deal could have been an elaborate fraud. The buyer was identified as Qadbak Investments, a mysterious Swiss firm that had recently acquired a football club in England and which was supposedly backed by wealthy Middle Eastern investors who preferred to keep a low profile. After an exhaustive chase of paper trails and dummy companies, it now appears that Qadbak is nothing but a front for one Russell King, a British national based in Dubai previously convicted of fraud.

According to the report, King was planning on using Sauber as a means to tap into the revenue sharing scheme in Formula One, worth tens of millions of euros.

Source

Tags: bmw, bmw sauber, BmwSauber, f1, formula 1, formula one, Formula1, FormulaOne, qadbak, qadbak investments, QadbakInvestments, russell king, RussellKing, sauber

Mercedes-Benz Acquires World Champion Brawn GP Team

by Noah Joseph (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Cars & Autos, Sports

Mercedes-Benz has a long history in grand prix racing. In the inter-war period, it competed with the famous Silver Arrows. After the war, the German automaker returned briefly, only to withdraw again after just one year. It wouldn't be until decades later that they'd come back to the scene, supplying engines first to the Sauber team (later acquired by arch-rival BMW) and then to McLaren, the championship team with which Mercedes has been tied – including a part-ownership and collaboration on the SLR McLaren supercar – since 1995. McLaren and Mercedes won several world championships throughout their fourteen-year history together, but now the two companies have gone their own separate ways. McLaren is building their own supercar – the MP4-12C – and Mercedes the SLS AMG, and now the two have announced a separation on the race track as well.

Although Mercedes will continue to provide McLaren with engines, the automaker has sold its stake back to the racing team. In its place, Benz has acquired a 75% stake in the Brawn GP team – which was previously Honda's, which in turn took over from British American Racing and Tyrrell before that. In its inaugural season, Brawn won both the constructors' title and the drivers' title, and will now be rebranded as Mercedes Grand Prix for the upcoming season. Eager to demonstrate German talent, the new Mercedes team has already signed Nico Rosberg – one of the youngest and most promising talents on the grid – and is preparing to announce its second driver shortly before returning for the 2010 championship in an effort to repeat this year's success.

Tags: f1, formula 1, formula one, Formula1, FormulaOne, mclaren, mercedes, mercedes grand prix, mercedes-benz, MercedesGrandPrix, silver arrows, SilverArrows

F1 Champion Kimi Raikkonen Could Be Paid 17 Million Euros Not to Race Next Season

by Noah Joseph (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Cars & Autos, Sports, Wealth

There are few sports figures paid as highly as Formula One drivers...world champions especially. With the 2009 season already wrapped up, teams are preparing for their assault on next year's championship, with an unprecedented game of musical chairs taking place in the off-season.

Among the changes, two-time world champion Fernando Alonso is moving, at long last, from Renault to Ferrari. Trouble is, the Italian team already has two world-class drivers on contract. So to make room, Ferrari is willing to pay its 2007 world champion Kimi Raikkonen not to race.

According to reports, Raikkonen will be paid a whopping 17 million euros next year just to vacate his seat. He's free to move to another team, but if he does, Ferrari will only owe him 10 million euros. For his part, Kimi says he'll only consider McLaren, and knowing full well of the conditions of his contract, the British team (for whom he drove previously) is offering him only 5 million – a fair bit less than he'd be worth on the open market. The bottom line is that Raikkonen stands to make more money if he sits out next season than if he races.

Source

Tags: f1, ferrari, formula 1, formula one, Formula1, FormulaOne, kimi, kimi raikkonen, KimiRaikkonen, mclaren, raikkonen, scuderia ferrari, ScuderiaFerrari

Brawn GP Racing Chronographs by Graham-London

by Noah Joseph (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Timepieces / Watches, Luxury Cars & Autos

The correlations between high-performance racing machines and high-precision timepieces hardly need any elaboration, and the examples are plenty. It seems every premium automaker and every top-tier racing team has its own line of watches, usually crafted by Switzerland's finest watchmakers. And now Brawn GP has joined the fold.

If you haven't heard of Brawn GP, it's been a while since you've watched a grand prix. The team – headed by strategic mastermind Ross Brawn – that took over when Honda packed up and left Formula One racing last year is leading the world championship with only two rounds to go. But they've run most of the season without the sort of multi-million-dollar sponsorship deals you'd expect of the rookie race winners. At the British Grand Prix at Silverstone this year, however, the team announced a new deal with Anglo-Swiss watchmakers Graham-London, which lays claim to the first chronograph in timekeeping history. Graham has debuted a small line of timepieces custom made for the team, including the Chronofighter and the Silverstone, featuring Brawn GP's signature colors and individually numbered. Only 250 will be made, so you'd better be faster than a Brawn racer to get your hands on one.

Gallery: Brawn GP series by Graham-London

Tags: brawn, brawn gp, BrawnGp, f1, formula 1, formula one, Formula1, FormulaOne, graham, graham london, graham-london, GrahamLondon, grand prix, GrandPrix

Richard Mille RM 008-V2 Felipe Massa Limited Edition Watch

by Ariel Adams (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Timepieces / Watches

Here is a high luxury-Swiss watch company making a nod to Brazil and Formula 1 racing. Actually the entire Richard Mille brand is basically a nod to auto racing with the technically inspired looks - though I don't think Formula 1 cars proportionally have that much gold. This RM 008-V2 watch is undeniably Richard Mille in form, but with colors matching the Brazilian flag. The reason for this colorful flair is the watch's connection with Brazilian Formula 1 racer Felipe Massa. There are actually two Felipe Massa limited edition Richard Mille watches, but this is the more complex of the two. The alternative model (limited to 40 pieces) is the RM 004-V2. The difference is that the pictured RM 008-V2 has a tourbillon based manually wound movement, while the other model does not. Both watches have a split-second 30 minute chronograph, the time with subsidiary seconds, a power reserve indicator, a torque level indicator, and function selection indicator. All functions are understandable when you look more or less straight down at the watch as the dials are applied to the rear of the sapphire crystal.

The hefty case is done in either 18k red or white gold, with just 5 pieces each. That is a total of 10 watches for the RM 008-V2 watch line. Style is typical to Richard Mille which is hard to hate, but probably just as hard to live with full-time. It is classy, manly, and fun, while being luxurious. Though I think it would give me a headache like too much good wine if I wore it long enough. Prices will make your head spin faster than Felipe Massa needs to circle the track a single time.

Ariel Adams publishes the luxury watch review site aBlogtoRead.com.

Tags: felipe massa, FelipeMassa, formula 1, Formula1, limited edition, LimitedEdition, richard mille, RichardMille, RM 004-V2, RM 008-V2, Rm004-v2, Rm008-v2, watch

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