15/07/2025 20:00
It may be approaching a year since Daniel Ricciardo bowed out of
Formula 1, but it seems he has the edge over his former F1 rivals
when it comes to possessing 'the most expensive wrist'. F1 drivers
seemingly love their watches. Lando Norris and Charles Leclerc have
even hit the headlines in recent years over theirs in the wake of
high-profile thefts. Now, a leading expert in the art of exclusive
watches has calculated which driver stands above their peers when
it comes to telling the time, with former Red Bull and McLaren star
Ricciardo leading the way. The Australian has in his possession a
Patek Philippe Nautilus ruby-set 5711, which carries an estimated
value of over £800,000. It has been described by Arif Mughal, a
watch valuation specialist at Luxe Watches, a leading name in
appraisals for rare and high-end timepieces, as being "one of the
rarest iterations of the Nautilus ever made". With it "reserved for
top-tier collectors, it's more sculpture than timepiece — and
virtually unattainable". Ricciardo also owns a Patek Philippe
5271P, valued at between £250,000-£300,000, which Mughal claims is
"collector royalty". As for Ricciardo's former McLaren team-mate
Norris, once robbed of his Richard Mille RM 67-02 after the Euro
2020 final between England and Italy at Wembley in July 2021, still
stands out with the Richard Mille RM 11-03 McLaren worth an
estimated £400,000+. Mughal claims the watch is "at the cutting
edge of both material science and design". As for Leclerc, who
chased down thieves after his Richard Mille RM-02 was stolen in
April 2022 whilst he was on holiday in Tuscany, Italy, owns a Patek
Philippe Nautilus 5990 (Steel) valued between £110,000–£130,000.
Seven-time F1 champion Lewis Hamilton is another who sports a watch
from the Patek Philippe Nautilus range, namely the Travel Time
Chronograph 5990/1R worth up to £180,000 and described by Mughal as
being a model that is "as much sculpture as it is precision
instrument". As for four-time F1 champion Max Verstappen, his watch
is still highly expensive by anybody's standards, but not in the
realm of those mentioned above. Verstappen wears a Tag Heuer
Carrera 1158 CHN Tribute (Gold Glassbox Variant). It is based on a
watch once famously gifted to F1 drivers by Jack Heuer, the last
member of the Heuer family to manage the manufacturer. Valued at up
to £22,000, Mughal says Verstappen's watch is "built as much for
racing history as it is for technical performance".
