The official timepiece of the riveting motorsport invites us behind the scenes

Before McLaren driver Lando Norris ascended the podium for his first Formula 1 victory at the scintillating 2024 Miami Grand Prix, hundreds of employees of F1 and motor sport’s global governing body, the FIA (Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile), as well as individuals affiliated with teams, sponsors, partners and press all circulated in the paddock. It’s here, in this elite restricted access sector, that Rolex (a global partner and the official timepiece of Formula 1 since 2013) took COOL HUNTING and select VIP guests through the inner-workings of a sport that continues to captivate the world.

The paddock easily functions as a metaphor for Rolex, with complex, moving components and precision essential to both. The paddock is a hub of critical activity that encompasses everything from the race control room to the pit building and the home of the safety cars. To delve deeper into the wristwatch metaphor, the race control room is very much the mechanical movement powering the entire operation. Within is a wall of screens and a series of staffed desks, transported from race to race around the world, which house the FIA’s video analysts, as well as the clerk of the course (who knows the track inside and out), the race director, the sporting director and the race control messaging operator. Communication extends from here to all of the teams, as well as the safety car operator and medical staff.

F1 drivers wear future-forward biometric gloves that track heart rate and in-ear accelerometers which note g-force. The data they harvest is piped directly to the race control room and a vehicle impact triggers alerts on the wall of screens. In the instance of impact, the safety cars, medical cars or extraction teams are dispatched directly by the FIA operators within the race control room. From this high intensity room, every inch of the track can be observed—thanks to two or more cameras per turn, plus all of the on-board cameras in vehicles and any helicopters and CCTVs of street tracks.

As many might be aware of, a safety car is deployed when a hazard has been detected on the track (there’s a virtual safety car alternative as well, which pops up on drivers’ dashboards and alerts them to reduce their speed by 40%). Vehicles in the physical safety car fleet, which are 730 horsepower Mercedes-AMG GT Black Series cars, enter the track and slow down the competing racecars so that marshals can resolve any disruption or danger. Bernd Mayländer, a German motorsport athlete, has been the safety car driver for more than 460 F1 grand prix around the world.

“2000 was my first season,” Mayländer says during our tour with Rolex. “I was racing in DMT and F2 and I thought this could be a good job. It’s nice to work for the FIA, because it’s the highest race organization worldwide, and being a safety car driver is having a position in Formula 1. I never expected to get so close to Formula 1. I was happy to drive Le Mans, but I never dreamed this big. I’m a country boy.”

Mercedes has covered the safety and medical cars since the French Grand Prix in 1996. “Before that, professor Sid Watkins [the sport’s late, legendary doctor] said that we needed a proper safety car because the car before was too slow. That was the entry for Mercedes. They covered everything until 2020, when they decided to share the program with others,” Mayländer explains. Next year, Aston Martin will share duties by introducing a Vantage into the fleet.

Though the basics of the work remain the same, Mayländer has observed several Formula 1 safety changes over the last 25 years. “I remember when I started we had only two safety cars,” he says. “We now have two safety cars and two medical cars. The ability and speed of the cars have changed, too. It’s completely different. We now have headsets; before we had a hand radio. We have two screens inside. We have a full package of information from GPS and radio. It’s easier to make a safe, quick decision.” Further, the FIA is working on a path toward sustainable fuel.

An estimated 275,000 people attended the Miami Grand Prix this race weekend. There, Rolex clocks provided the time and branding stretched out along the track. Many other sports are fragmented by player, team, city or nation. There are different tours and leagues. But Formula 1 has an enveloping, self-contained, cohesion—everyone is traveling together, always. This unity, coupled with the fact that it’s a sport played out on an international stage aligns with so many of Rolex’s values. Very few brands could logistically and financially support a global organization like Formula 1 at such a level—and that’s what makes them the ideal partner.