Photo Report: Watch Spotting At The Miami Grand Prix With Miami’s Most Exclusive Car Club
Over the last few years, I – like a lot of people – have started to follow Formula 1. Sure, I’m maybe a part of the “Drive to Survive” bandwagon, but it’s been thrilling to follow the sport from afar, follow the drama on and off the track, and spend a lot of my spare time reading about everything in between the races. But finally, this past weekend, I got to experience that action in person at the Miami Grand Prix.
The first thing on display for Grand Prix weekend was this Aston Martin Aramco F1 Team car for Lance Stroll with the Vantage in the background.
I was invited to the event by The Concours Club, a members-only automotive club with a 2.1-mile race track next to Miami-Opa Locka Executive Airport, not far outside of Miami. If you’re a member of the club, you’re welcome to land your jet, drive your car (that the club will bring to the airport) to the track, and race anything from your personal Mercedes AMG-One or one of the their fleet BMW M2 CS Racing (or just about anything in between) for a few laps before departing back to whatever corner of the world your plane can reach. Or you can stick around and take racing lessons (with real-time data and remote coaching in fleet vehicles with neutral setups) and enjoy the club’s amenities.
Beyond the selfish opportunity to finally take in a Grand Prix in person, the rationale for my attending the Grand Prix with the Concours Club is the inextricable tie between timekeeping and motorsports. Some of the greatest stories in watches – like that of Briggs Cunningham – have ties to motorsports. Plus, if you can afford the jet, the multi-million dollar race car, and the club fees, there’s a decent chance you might have (and enjoy) a nice watch.
The lounge at the Concours Club includes giant screens to watch the races or even follow the action on the track outside.
Felix Rosenqvist’s suit next to Ayrton Senna’s in the club lounge.
A statue of Ayrton Senna in the entryway to the club.
Starting off with literally the last watch I saw that day, this Greubel Forsey Balancier Contemporain goes to show that the folks at the club weren’t messing around.
Well, Sunday didn’t disappoint. Not one part of it. Even with the rain that caused some havoc in the Formula 1 Academy races, it was a fantastic race with a lot of drama up and down the track. We started the morning with a welcome breakfast at The Concours Club. It gave me a chance to experience a bit of the space and see some cars, though for the privacy of the members I wasn’t allowed to shoot the Hennessey Venom, Ferraris like the SF90XX Stradale, Roma Spider, F40, a handful of Porsches, the multiple Mercedes AMG-One, or other cars parked in the garages. Privacy was the same reason why the club asked me not to identify any of the guests and avoid too many pictures of the attendees. The club also announced a new partnership with Aston Martin that will give their members access to the brand’s coolest (and fastest) offerings like the Vantage, DBX707, and DB12 if they want to spice up the stable they have access to. Then it was on the way to the Concours Club Lounge at the Miami International Autodrome for a trackside, Turn 3 view of all the Grand Prix action.
There were hints about the Concours Club partnership around, but it wasn’t announced to members until 3:30 pm before the race.
The Concours Club CEO Aaron Weiss was sporting a Hublot.
The Concours Club Lounge at the racetrack. The location at Turn 3 was chosen because of it’s proximity to VIP passenger drop-off for easy in-and-out.
But race reports and hospitality are not why you clicked into this story. You’re here for the cars, the action, and most importantly, the watches. And I’m here for the chance to say: It’s lights out and away we go for the photo report from the Miami Grand Prix.
For a weekend all about speed, it makes sense that two of the first watches I’d see were Omega Speedmasters.
An Omega Speedmaster Dark Side of the Moon
Here’s one I wasn’t expecting: a Vortic Watches conversion of an old Waltham Model 1894 from 1925.
Just look at that movement. Beautiful.
A Tudor Black Bay 58, a watch near and dear to a lot of us at Hodinkee.
An ADLC-coated Cartier Santos De Cartier.
The first of many Rolex Daytonas we’ll see today.
The day started with a race from the Formula 1 Academy drivers, and it quickly got very wet. Here is Doriane Pin, who is partnered with PREMA Racing and the Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS Formula One Team.
Greg Creamer on the mic brought us his take on all the action.
Speaking of action, one of the first watches I spotted at the track was this Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Concept Split-Second Chronograph Big Date GMT.
Sticking to the red theme, here’s a cool MAD1 “Red” paired with a cool tattoo of the Equation of Time. That’s a guy who loves watches.
Scuderia Ferrari driver Maya Weug in the rain in Turn 3.
A Patek Philippe ref. 7118/1200 in rose gold matching the rosso corsa theme.
More rosso corsa, more rose gold with the AP Royal Oak Chronograph.
The much sought-after Rolex “Panda” Daytona.
Hublot Big Bang Unico in white ceramic.
As a part of the McLaren Driver Development Program and in the Rodin Motorsport-operated car, Ella Lloyd tears through the wet.
Memorabilia for sale included signed race-worn visors, hats, lug nuts, and George Russell’s IWC-branded Puma race gloves.
You could also buy Fernando Alonso’s race-worn helmet or a mini version.
The Patek Philippe ref. 5167G is an all-time neo-classic.
Did you know that the Patek ref. 5726A is one of only three stainless steel Nautilus models still in the catalog?
Another AP Royal Oak Chronograph.
Eventually, the rain stopped and the sun came out. And you know what they say… Sun’s out…
… guns out. This was the first time I’ve ever seen someone wearing a Patek Philippe ref. 5373P Perpetual Calendar Monopusher Split-Second Chronograph with left-hand crown. After seeing it in person, I’m sold. The grey gradient dial looks amazing, and the crown on the left actually makes it easier to operate with your thumbs.
A recently acquired Patek Philippe Nautilus ref. 5712/1A.
And another one.
And another one.
In a sea of Nautiluses (Nautili?), the rose gold ref. 5712 really stands out.
Mat Armstrong, one of YouTube’s biggest automotive content creators, rolled up to the the Concours Club.
Rocking a nice, classic Datejust.
Meanwhile the two-tone Rolex Lady Datejust goes undefeated for the gals in the crowd.
Another “it girl” watch, the Bulgari Serpenti.
The lounge was pretty quiet for the first few hours of the day, but it slowly got very packed as race time approached.
A sculpture from artist Paul Oz.
The entrance into the speakeasy.
A Panerai Luminor GMT on the wrist of aforementioned artist Paul Oz.
TAG Heuer was all over the grid – literally, with branding everywhere – but also in the lounge.
Daytonas on Oysterflex were popular choices for the warm and wet weather, like this one in Everose.
How about another option?
The venue starts filling up..
Someone even jumped in the pool and swam some laps.
DJ Ray Costa was playing the music.
And the booth was full of more Daytonas.
Wait, what’s that?
It’s McLaren’s Oscar Piastri!
And the HP – I mean, Ferrari team.
Richard Mille sponsors drivers from both Ferrari and McLaren, and you know who else they sponsor? Rafael Nadal. Unrelated, here’s a Richard Mille RM 35-03 “Rafael Nadal” in blue quartz TPT.
Richard Mille RM11-03 Flyback Chronograph
Or how about one for the Lotus team? The RM11-03 ‘Romain Grosjean.’
And eventually, the race was on and people were excited.
Alpine’s Pierre Gasly.
Racing Bulls Liam Lawson before his DNF.
*Car sounds* Neeeeyowww…
An OG five-liner Tudor Pelagos.
This guest came correct for the date despite not setting it on their watch. It was “May the Fourth Be With You,” so they wore a Citizen with a dial designed to look like the cockpit of the Millennium Falcon.
An unexpected sighting of a Speake Marin.
And a Chronoswiss Chronoswiss
Zenith Chronomaster Sport
And an IWC Ingenieur Chronograph.
What’s come to be one of the first things I think of when I think of Miami (thanks to my friend T.S.) – sparklers and champagne.
We were so close that it was hard to capture race action with the fence right in front of us, but you got to hear the turbos running on the 1.6-liter V6 engines. It was incredible how much faster they went than the Formula 1 Academy cars, and you could hear the synchronized upshift as they made it into the brief straight between Turns 3 and 4.
Lance Stroll in the Aston Martin coming out of T3.
Catching some sneaky photos of Mercedes’ George Russell.
The young rockstar driver Kimi Antonelli in the Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team put on a show this weekend. He’s going to be one to watch.
Someone came to support Mercedes with their IWC Big Pilot.
A Panerai Luminor.
Hublot Spirit of Big Bang.
One member of the event’s security team was wearing a G-Shock.
An Omega x Swatch “MoonSwatch.”
Tissot PRX.
Rolex YachtMaster.
A Rolex “Bluesy” Submariner.
A Rolex GMT-Master “Coke.”
And a Rolex GMT-Master “Pepsi.”
Ferrari’s Charles LeClerc taking Turn 3.
Williams’ Carlos Sainz.
Red Bull’s Yuki Tsunoda.
Lance Stroll came back around. Funny how that works.
A Rolex “John Mayer” Daytona.
The Rolex Deep Sea Challenge in RLX Titanium (only the second I’ve seen in the wild).
An off-catalog Rolex Daytona in platinum with baguette indices and baguette bezel.
An Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Chronograph.
A Bamford-modified Rolex Daytona that looks like a “Paul Newman.”
A TAG Heuer Bamford Monaco.
Alpine, with the H. Moser branding on the side near the cockpit.
The eventual third-place finisher George Russell.
Kick Sauber’s Gabriel Bortoletto had a tough race and didn’t finish, but here’s proof that he at least made a few laps.
Rounding out the photo report with a few of my favorite watches spotted there, including this new Patek Philippe ref. 5164G
A Patek Philippe ref. 5980/60G.
A major flex isn’t necessarily just an Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore chronograph; it’s the Mets World Series ring.
A rare watch that I’ve never seen in person, an Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore Tourbillon Chronograph
The newest Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Double Balancier in black ceramic with a rose gold movement.
Patek Philippe ref. 5470/1G.
An F.P.Journe Centigraphe in rose gold – the second to last watch spotted at the event.
Finally, while I didn’t see any RM11-03 “McLaren”, I have to give a big congrats to Oscar Piastri piloting his car around the 57 laps of the Miami International Autodrome for his third race win in a row.
Hodinkee
