Page 94 - BFM F/W 2024

The Legend Lives On
Thirty years after his tragic death, racing legend Ayrton Senna’s legacy remains an inspiration for TAG Heuer’s Formula One collection
By Jeremy Freed
ONE OF THE MOST VALUABLE PIECES IN THE TAG HEUER ARCHIVE is a prototype from 1994. With a steel case, a cushioned black leather strap, and an anthracite grey dial with subtle checkered flags at 12
subtly embossed on the dial. A third Senna Link followed the next year in a limited edition of 4,098 pieces (a nod to the number of minutes elapsed during the driver’s 41 winning races), and another arrived in 2003 with the addition of a chronometer-certified chronograph movement. As with the first TAG Heuer x Senna watch, a portion of the proceeds from each piece sold was donated to the Instituto Ayrton Senna, an education-focused non-profit created in Senna’s memory that continues to benefit Brazilian children.
“When Ayrton realized his public figure status and the influence he could have on making a good impact in the world, he began to use this advantage to transmit the values he believed in to transform Brazil,” says Bianca Senna, the driver’s niece and the CEO of Senna Brands. “Two months before the accident, he talked to my mother about wanting to create something to provide children with the same opportunities he had. At the end of that year, Viviane materialized Ayrton’s desire and chose education as the gateway to transforming the Brazilian reality.” Over the past 30 years, Senna says, the foundation has benefited more than 30 million children in more than 3,000 partner municipalities across Brazil, and aims to reach one million more children in 2024.
At TAG Heuer, Senna’s legacy remains equally strong, with two new pieces in the Formula One collection bearing the driver’s name, S logo, and a ’90s-inspired aesthetic. The TAG Heuer Formula 1 Chronograph x Senna is a 44 mm special edition powered by TAG Heuer’s next-gen Calibre 16 movement and bearing several aesthetic tributes to Senna’s career. In addition to an SEL-style bracelet (a reference to the first TAG Heuer watch worn by Senna, the analog-digital S/ el S25706C), it prominently features the Senna S on the dial and bezel, with an image of the driver’s helmet engraved into the case back. A quartz-powered
edition of the Formula 1 Chronograph x Senna, meanwhile, features an anthracite sunray brushed dial complemented by pops of yellow on the dial, ceramic bezel,
and SEL-inspired leather strap.
“With each new edition launched there is a chance to play on different ele-
ments of Senna’s narrative,” Biebuyck says. “Given his passion for the best of life and well-made objects, developing a high-end offering that speaks to the world of Senna is an interesting new direction we are excited to explore in the future.”
and six, the watch’s relatively unassuming design belies its historical significance. This prototype, however, was the first and only watch co-created by Brazilian Formula One legend Ayrton Senna, and was worn by the driver before his tragic death in 1994. Early in 2024, the watch — stored unworn in a bank vault for 30 years — was donated to TAG Heuer’s archive, where it now resides alongside Senna’s helmet and other pieces of memorabilia from his championship-winning career.
“It was a real homecoming moment and one of the proudest additions to the collection I have made,” says Nicholas Biebuyck, TAG Heuer heritage director. “It allows us to tell the Senna story in a more complete way and we are working on new narratives around our relationship for the
future to expand on what we have learned.”
This year marks three decades since Ayrton Senna’s untimely death on May
1, 1994, at the San Marino Grand Prix, but his legacy remains undimmed. At TAG Heuer, which first partnered with the Brazilian driver in 1988, his passion, determination, grace, and talent remain a potent source of inspiration. “The relationship with Senna was not just about his victories on the racetrack, resulting in three world championships, but the belief system that carried him to these heights,” Biebuyck explains. “Ayrton would not give a millimetre on track in the heat of competition, was focused and calculated when making decisions, and was extremely driven. Away from the racetrack he was a man of great faith, had an unending love for his family, and was known for his generosity to those in need. These are characteristics we can all be inspired by.”
Senna’s prototype watch would become TAG Heuer’s first co-branded Senna timepiece, the TAG Heuer 6000 Senna limited edition and the first in a series of TAG Heuer watches that bear the driver’s logo. A second Ayrton Senna TAG Heuer, the TAG Heuer Link Senna Chronograph, followed five years later in 2001. Released in a Limited Edition of 1,991 watches as a tribute to Senna’s last world championship victory in 1991, it featured his signature “Senna S”
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