Style -- 6 days ago
Remember all those racy IWCs blinging up Lewis Hamilton’s wrists, back when he got them slapped by F1 itself, along with fingers wagged at his fingers for too much jewellery? Well, now the boy from Stevenage has changed lanes to Ferrari, it’s the turn of King’s Lynn’s finest, George Russell to make a Mercedes-AMG Petronas special edition with the watchmaker from Schaffhausen. Two in fact.
IWC Schaffhausen Pilot’s Watch Automatic 41 George Russell (Ref. IW328107)
IWC Schaffhausen Pilot’s Watch Chronograph 41 George Russell (Ref. IW389411)
One’s a chronograph with stopwatch function and the other an automatic time-only – both in with black zirconium-oxide ceramic cases and with luminescent numerals and strap in Russell’s signature blue. This fluoro-inflected turquoise has been associated with the 27 year-old since he ditched the black back in 2023, starting with a darker blue before debuting a stunning blue chrome in Singapore in 2025, which is the inspiration for this lWC.
“It has been an unforgettable experience working with IWC Schaffhausen’s creative team on the design of my first ever limited-edition watches,” Mr Russell has enthused. “By incorporating my signature blue colour that has accompanied me during most of my career as a racing driver, as well as my 63 Logo, these watches feel truly personal and unique to me. These two limited-edition Pilot’s Watch pieces are reflective of where my journey has taken me so far and of what I have been able to achieve on and off the race track”, says George Russell.
Born and raised in the capital of North Norfolk’s coast, George Russell’s route to F1 started with junior karting, with back-to-back victories in the Karting European Championships in 2011 and 2012. From there it was on to junior formulae signing with Mercedes Junior Team in 2017 before making his F1 debut in 2019 at the Australian Grand Prix for Williams.
Rather like Hamilton, Russell has earned a reputation for being a political game player with a tendency to use, let’s say ‘controversial’ tactics to get what he wants off the back of spats with Max Verstappen, Valtteri Bottas and Lewis Hamilton when the latter two were his team mates. As of Abu Dhabi 2025 Grand Prix he has had five wins, seven pole positions, 11 fastest laps and 24 F1 podiums.
For 2026, he is bringing the title fight to Verstappen, and his two new IWCs are certainly fit for it. IWC make Top Gun pilot watches for the ‘best of the best’ of the US Naval air arm. So for F1 it’s only right the Pilot’s Watch range comes to bear on those four-wheeled pilots who have always felt a need for speed.
Using zirconium-oxide ceramic for both the 41mm case keeps things light, it is also scratch resistant, meaning it won’t mark if you’re tinkering under a bonnet or cowling for that matter. (It’s testament to their suitability that Mercedes-AMG’s mechanics in the pit lane on every race weekend come rocking IWCs of their own, not just the drivers.)
Both the watches have a crown made of Ceratanium, an IWC-developed material that combines the lightness of titanium with a hardness and scratch-resistance similar to that of ceramic. On the chronograph that includes the pushers as well. They have black dials with indices and numerals printed in Russell’s signature blue shade.
In a nice touch, both watches feature titanium casebacks engraved ’63’: the starting number Russell has raced under since he was a child winning karting championships all the way through to F1. Hence each watch’s limitation to 1,063 pieces apiece. Like the man himself, you might just have to deploy some wily tactics to secure yours before any surprise overtakes.
