The 2024 Sao Paulo GP ended the longest win drought Max Verstappen had faced in the last four years (10). Finishing P1 despite starting P17 under treacherous conditions at Interlagos, it was truly one of F1’s greatest drives ever. And what better way to celebrate than by sporting a luxury watch on the podium?
While spraying champagne with P2 and P3 finishers Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly, Verstappen was spotted wearing a watch that costs $156,500. It was the Tag Heuer Monaco Split-Seconds Chronograph, which features a square titanium dial with a DLC coating.
With a black strap, the watch was different from the red-colored one displayed on Tag Heuer’s website.
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It also seemed to be a customized timepiece, since it had three stars on it — each resembling a World Championship win. Verstappen’s name and logo were also visible. Perhaps the black strap was also something he had requested, as the color red is too over the top for his personality.
However, Verstappen would not have cared what color his watch was. He was on cloud nine, winning an F1 Grand Prix after a gap of 134 days — an eternity for a driver who had dominated the previous two seasons.
The Red Bull star has faced significant challenges over the past five months, with the RB20’s handling issues hampering his performance. While this was a crucial win in the broader championship picture, his drive from the back of the grid alone deserved high praise.
How Verstappen defied the odds in Brazil
A Q1 exit seemed like a big setback for Verstappen’s prospects to secure a decent result. Still, he kept his head down and made his way through the field while his peers spun, crashed, and collided in the rainy conditions.
Verstappen fought his way up to the podium positions when a timely red flag helped him by providing a free pit stop. It allowed him to restart from P2, with fresher tires Red Bull changed for him, without any stress in the pit lane.
Title rival Lando Norris wasn’t pleased, openly expressing his frustration over the advantage Verstappen gained from the red flag. In his post-race comments, Norris remarked that Verstappen and the Alpine duo (Gasly and Ocon) had “luck” on their side to secure the podium positions due to the timing of the red flag.
However, with the way the three-time world champion drove, it was anything but a ‘lucky’ win. Veteran world champions like Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso acknowledged the same that it was an “amazing” drive from Verstappen and congratulated him post-race.
