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Expert Got Baffled After Seeing Kimi Raikkonen’s $2.8 Million Timepiece
Expert Got Baffled After Seeing Kimi Raikkonen’s $2.8 Million Timepiece
In the world of Formula 1, where speed and precision reign supreme, the spotlight extends beyond the racetrack to the personal choices of the drivers. One aspect that never fails to captivate enthusiasts is the luxurious timepieces adorning the wrists of F1 A-listers. Watch expert Nico Leonard, renowned for his insightful YouTube reviews, recently delved into this extravagant world, specifically exploring the mind-boggling $2.8 million timepiece worn by none other than Kimi Raikkonen.
Leonard’s Baffling Encounter
Nico Leonard, with a staggering 1.62 million subscribers on his YouTube channel, decided to venture into the realm of F1 driver watches. As he perused through the collections of Lewis Hamilton, Max Verstappen, and Daniel Ricciardo, it was Raikkonen’s timepiece that left Leonard utterly bewildered.
In a video uploaded in 2021, Leonard couldn’t contain his astonishment, exclaiming, “Ah, look at that! What the f*ck?! That’s an RM 50-04 Split Seconds Chronograph. That’s insane! That is a watch!”
Expert Got Baffled After Seeing Kimi Raikkonen’s $2.8 Million Timepiece
The Richard Mille 50-04: A Masterpiece Unveiled
The focal point of Raikkonen’s wrist adornment is the Richard Mille 50-04, standing as one of the most exclusive creations from the esteemed watchmaker. This timepiece boasts a manual winding tourbillon movement, encompassing hours, minutes, a split-second chronograph, a 30-minute totalizer, power reserve, torque, and function indicators. With a limited production of only 30 units, the RM 50-04 is not just a symbol of opulence but also a testament to robust design, capable of withstanding pressures of nearly 5000 G’s.
Richard Mille, a prominent title sponsor for various F1 teams, often extends these lavish watches as gifts to drivers. Teams like Ferrari and McLaren, falling under RM’s sponsorship umbrella, witness their drivers receiving custom-made watches, adding an exclusive touch to the already elite world of F1.
Luxury and Risks: A Two-Sided Coin
While these extravagant timepieces enhance the aura of F1, they also come with their set of risks. The exclusivity that makes these watches so appealing can make drivers more susceptible to robberies. A notable incident involved Lando Norris during the Euro 2020 final, where masked robbers seized a $184k Richard Mille 67-02, one of only five in existence.
Similarly, in 2022, Charles Leclerc experienced a watch robbery in Tuscany. Despite a pursuit in his custom Ferrari 488 Pista Spider, the robbers eluded capture. The subsequent months saw Italian authorities successfully apprehending the culprits.
MORE: MICK SCHUMACHER STARTING ‘NEW
Luxury Watchmaker Alliances in F1
The allure of luxury watches extends beyond Richard Mille and F1 drivers. Various watchmakers forge partnerships with drivers, becoming an integral part of their public image. Daniel Ricciardo, in alliance with IWC, showcases a parallel sponsorship narrative shared by Lewis Hamilton. Lance Stroll proudly associates with Girard-Perregaux, while Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez prominently display Tag Heuer watches, becoming walking billboards for these high-end brands.
In the fast-paced world of Formula 1, where every second counts, the wristwatches worn by the drivers become more than mere timekeeping devices. They embody luxury, exclusivity, and personal style. Kimi Raikkonen’s $2.8 million timepiece, a beacon of opulence, not only left a seasoned watch expert in awe but also sheds light on the intricate relationship between F1 drivers and their luxurious accessories. As the racetrack continues to be a stage for speed and precision, the watches worn by the drivers stand as testaments to the intersection of technology, craftsmanship, and unabashed luxury in the world of motorsports.
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Max Verstappen has once again claimed that he is the target of ‘British bias’ in the media after watching the fallout from his battle with Lando Norris. The three-time world champion’s defending was criticised by a number of drivers, including Lewis Hamilton.
Verstappen and Norris shared a titanic battle at the Circuit of the Americas last weekend, but the flashpoint came at Turn 12 as the Dutchman deployed a signature tactic, lunging deep into the corner to get to the apex first before running both himself and his title rival off the road.
Norris opted to keep his foot in and overtook the Red Bull driver around the outside, although this decision landed him a five-second time penalty that dropped him back behind Verstappen in the general classification. This sparked a major debate with other drivers – Hamilton included – calling for the FIA to take action and outlaw this style of defending.
Verstappen has been frustrated by this debate. Quizzed by Viaplay in Mexico on whether he’d like to see the rules changed, he replied: “No, not really. But I have the wrong passport.” Asked if he was referring to a British passport, he confirmed as much.
“Yeah, it’s the wrong country, on that aspect… with complaining” he replied. “I love my passport but on that aspect, I should have had a different passport, actually.” The Dutchman also complained of ‘British bias’ earlier this season following comments made by Adrian Newey.
When asked about the debate surrounding Verstappen’s on-track conduct, former title rival Hamilton was quick to point out that the Dutchman has been employing these tactics for some time, dating back to their no-punches-pulled fight in 2021.
“It’s always been a grey area, that’s why he’s got away with it for so long,” Hamilton explained ahead of the Mexican Grand Prix. “They probably need to make some adjustments for sure.
“Also, we do have inconsistencies through rulings, weekend in, weekend out, obviously depending on which years it is. I mean, as a sport, we do need to level up on all areas and if you look at other global sports, they have full-time refs, for example, and I’m sure that wouldn’t be a bad thing for our sport.
“I experienced it many times with Max, you shouldn’t be able to just launch the car on the inside and be ahead and then you go off and still hold your position. So, they need to definitely work on this.”
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$200M Jeff Gordon teams up with Chase Elliott and Co. to decode the HMS driver behind the “Don’t judge me” old tweet
Hendrick Motorsports vice chairman Jeff Gordon teamed up with Chase Elliott and other HMS drivers in a lighthearted fun exercise for fans where they attempted to solve the mystery behind an old tweet from their current driver.
The anonymous tweet reads, “Don’t judge me, but I can’t wait to see the new twilight movie haha,” and it’s believed to belong to one of the HMS’s driver lineups, which includes Elliott, Kyle Larson, William Byron and Alex Bowman.
Jeff Gordan, who has a net worth of $200 million (according to Celebrity Net Worth), and HMS drivers tried to guess, but none of them were correct. Bowman and Elliott named Byron, while Byron went with Elliott, but it was Larson. He accepted that it was his tweet in 2011 and revealed that he likes Catherine Hardwicke’s Twilight movie.
HMS shared the video of the fun investigative activity on Instagram with a caption:
“Hold on tight, spider monkey”
Watch the Jeff Gordon and HMS’s guesses below:
https://www.instagram.com/reel/DBjQ7EzP3A7/?utm_source=ig_embed&ig_rid=e5182e01-3688-440a-ae00-0bf669973e15&ig_mid=01331E07-1F15-4C86-B3DB-7587302F0125
Three out of four HMS drivers are still in contention for the 2024 NASCAR Cup championship. Larson and Byron are in good position in the playoffs points table, with 35 and 27 points above the cutline.
However, 2020 Cup champion Elliott is in danger of getting eliminated from title contention, as he’s 53 points behind the cutline heading to this weekend’s Homestead-Miami race.
In an interview with NBC Sports earlier this season, Jeff Gordon spoke about the competition between their two best drivers, Kyle Larson and Chase Elliott, for the regular season championship. Gordan wanted to see both top drivers perform well and race aggressively against each other while maintaining sportsmanship in their chase for the regular season title.
However, neither Larson nor Elliott won the championship; it was Tyler Reddick who clinched the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series regular season championship. Speaking to NBC Sports, the four-time NASCAR Cup champion Jeff Gordon said:
“I think it’s pretty clear at Hendrick how we expect teams and drivers to race against one another and how they’ve got to go and compete not only against their competitors but against one another.
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“Kyle Busch is an a**”: Brad Keselowski publicly chastised his fierce NASCAR rival in front of over 150,000 spectators
Kyle Busch and Brad Keselowski birthed one of the fiercest rivalries in NASCAR. The duo had multiple run-ins throughout their careers, but the seed of their feud was sown at the 2010 Xfinity Series race hosted by the Bristol Motor Speedway. In the aftermath, Keselowski publicly castigated Busch in front of over 150,000 fans during driver introductions.
Busch kicked off his Food City 250 from third place in his #18 Toyota while Keselowski began in 13th. However, as the 250-lap battle inched closer to its conclusion, the then-Penske Racing driver held the domination while the former #18 Joe Gibbs Racing driver fought hard for the lead.
After struggling to overtake for nearly a dozen laps, Busch, with 31 laps until the checkered flag dropped, lunged ahead of Keselowski, only to be wrecked from behind and lose the spot again.
However, the JGR driver quickly retaliated and spun out Keselowski’s #22 Dodge. The move propelled the #18 Toyota to the victory lane while the Penske driver fell from a potential win to settling in 14th place.
The bitter feeling inside Brad Keselowski surfaced during the Bristol Cup Series race driver introductions the following day. After Kyle Busch introduced himself, his fierce rival took the mic and blasted Busch with his “a**’ comment.
“Brad Keselowski, driver of the Penske Racing Dodge. Kyle Busch is an a**,” he said.
However, when asked why he slammed Busch, Keselowski said that Juan Pablo Montoya challenged that he can’t call the JGR driver an “a**”. It’s worth mentioning that the crowd’s roar on the Penske driver’s introduction notched 104.2 decibels.
“Sometimes you just don’t like a guy”: Kyle Busch publicly slams Brad Keselowski during their 2017 title fight
The bitter rivalry between Kyle Busch and Brad Keselowski was such that both made unapologetic comments about the other from time to time. Despite the latter publicly extending an olive branch to the former in 2015, their relationship remained sour.
Max Verstappen addresses ‘British bias’ at Mexican GP after Lewis Hamilton put-down
$200M Jeff Gordon teams up with Chase Elliott and Co. to decode the HMS driver behind the “Don’t judge me” old tweet
