FRONT RUNNER

TAG Heuer's new role within LVMH's partnership with Formula 1 breathes new life into the brand, and their new CEO, Antoine Pin, has the drive to restore its reputation.

- WORDS DANIEL GOH

It is like a modern circus. The circus comes to town, and the city revolves around the event. They brought in 465,000 people over 4 days. It is more than Silverstone. It is the biggest attendance ever. There is an excitement surrounding Formula 1." These are the words of Antoine Pin, the new CEO of TAG Heuer, as he sat down for an interview with World of Watches Malaysia for a quick chat. This conversation came following the first Formula 1 race in Melbourne, right before we headed to Geneva for Watches & Wonders 2025.

Obviously, the signing of the LVMH group as the global luxury partner of Formula 1 with an astounding 10-year contract caught many of us in the industry by surprise, considering that they managed to usurp Rolex from that position. And as experience tells us, Rolex doesn’t move unless Rolex wants to. To be fair, the partnership is with the LVMH Group and its myriad of brands in tow, but let's be honest, the biggest winner for this new collaboration is obviously the only brand within the group with longstanding roots in motorsports — TAG Heuer.

Since mid-2024, Pin has been helming TAG Heuer after a shift within the group, and even he admits the Formula 1 news is a big gift that has been dropped in his lap. Before Frédéric Arnault grabbed the reins of TAG Heuer, the brand was diluted. At some point, Jean-Claude Biver brought his own ideas to the brand, going every which way, as Biver tends to do. There was the most affordable Swiss-made tourbillon, the association with a much younger audience and who can forget the launch of TAG Heuer's first luxury connected watch (there will be more on that in the interview). The point is, TAG Heuer as a brand was fragmented, but now with the Formula 1 partnership, the focus is razor sharp.