Velociudad: From the Eyes of Former Formula 1 Driver Stefan Johansson

"For Luxury Watches, Life In The Fast Lane"

By VICTORIA GOMELSKY

Watchmakers can go nutty when it comes to cars. Consider the past 50 years of timepieces. From the 1964 Carrera, Heuer’s tribute to La Carrera Panamericana, the renowned Mexican road rally held from 1950 to 1954, to the announcement earlier this month that Hublot, already the official timepiece/timekeeper for FIA Formula One, is now Ferrari’s newest official watch and timekeeper — a role that previously belonged to Panerai and before that, Girard-Perregaux — the automotive partnership is so ubiquitous that it has become an industry cliché.

“There is not one luxury automotive organization that does not have a relationship with a watch,” said Aaron Sigmond, senior contributing editor for Autoweek. “The bottom line: Men like all things mechanical. It’s a logical relationship.”

Effective marketing is one way to explain why now, more than ever, partnerships between watchmakers and their counterparts in the world of fast cars — be they carmakers, racing organizations or drivers — are thriving. A shared fascination with precision, craftsmanship, mechanical engineering and timing is another.

“It’s very rare to find someone who has a beautiful car and has on their wrist something generic,” said Mederic del Monaco, director of Top Marques Watches, an exhibition of luxury watches held in Monaco to coincide with the Top Marques Monaco car show, where prospective buyers are invited to test drive “supercars” — from exclusive makers like Keating, Tirrito and Bugatti — on the Monaco Grand Prix circuit.

As of this month, the show also has an Asian edition, Top Marques Macau, running Nov. 24 to Nov. 27 at the Venetian Resort Hotel in Macao. Aimed at Chinese collectors, the event showcases some 15 timepiece brands, including Franck Muller, Richard Mille and Roger Dubuis.

The goal, Mr. del Monaco said, is to create a series of supercar and watch shows that parallel the Formula One tour, with pit stops in Monaco, Macao, Brazil and the United States. “Next year, we would like to see in Monaco a lot of Chinese visitors,” he said.

It’s a far cry from the early 1960s, when watch-automotive pairings — like the 1963 Rolex Cosmograph Daytona, the perpetually in-demand chronograph named after the Rolex-sponsored car race in Daytona Beach, Florida — were still few and far between.

Then, in 1969, Heuer signed on as the first nonautomotive brand to support a Formula One driver, Jo Siffert of Switzerland. Two years later, the company solidified its future in motor racing by teaming up with Ferrari as official timekeeper, an eight-year relationship that included putting its name on the team’s car. Given Formula One’s growing profile on television in the 1970s and Ferrari’s seven Formula One world championship titles, the collaboration introduced the watchmaker to global consumers for the first time, said Jean-Christophe Babin, chief executive of TAG Heuer.

By Mr. Sigmond’s reckoning, however, “the seminal moment for contemporary auto-inspired wristwatches” didn’t occur until 1980, when Ferdinand Alexander Porsche at Porsche Design created an all-titanium chronograph produced by IWC.

Eight years later, Chopard issued a limited-edition sports watch on the occasion of the Mille Miglia, a legendary endurance race from Brescia to Rome.

“And then everybody is literally off to the races,” Mr. Sigmond said.

Fast-forward to 2011. With an eye to India’s booming luxury market, Hublot, TAG Heuer and Richard Mille all introduced limited-edition timepieces to mark the first Indian Grand Prix in New Delhi on Oct. 30.

“They all sold out before the race started,” said Mr. Babin, referring to the India Racing limited edition of TAG Heuer’s Carrera Tachymeter Chronograph. Priced at 199,000 rupees, or about $4,000, the watch features the colors of the Indian flag, saffron and green, and comes in a limited edition of 200.

The India F1 models enter an already crowded field. The number of automotive-inspired timepieces seems to multiply every year, from Breitling’s extensive collection of Breitling for Bentley watches to Blancpain’s L-Evolution Super Trofeo Flyback Chronograph, which toasts the brand’s two-year-old title sponsorship of the Lamborghini Blancpain Super Trofeo, an event in which Marc A. Hayek, Blancpain chairman and chief executive, who is an amateur driver, has participated.

That’s to say nothing of the juggernaut in the category. “This year, there is nobody doing it like Hublot,” Mr. Sigmond said. He referred to the brand’s two-year-old agreement with Bernie Ecclestone, chief executive of the Formula One Group; nine Hublot F1 limited editions, including the F1 King Power Suzuka released last month in honor of Japan’s Formula One circuit; and handful of timepieces whose proceeds benefit the Ayrton Senna Foundation, a Brazilian charity named after the three-time Formula One world champion killed in 1994.

“It cannot just be a logo,” Hublot’s chief executive, Jean-Claude Biver, said by way of explaining the F1 models’ blockbuster appeal. “You must really explore materials, colors, designs so people can see that it is a watch that comes from Formula One.”

But what about a watchmaker who comes from Formula One instead? Stefan Johansson, a professional race car driver with more than 30 years’ experience driving in competitions like Formula One, Indycar and the 24 Hours of Le Mans, is pursuing “a second life in art and design” through his watch brand, Stefan Johansson Vaxjo (a reference to his hometown in southern Sweden).

Although Mr. Johansson began selling custom-made timepieces under his own label about 10 years ago — to fans who found him through word of mouth, including Brad Pitt, Paul Newman and Mario Andretti — he’s on the brink of taking his brand to a wider audience.

In 2012, Mr. Johansson is planning to unveil a movement of his own design “that’s 100 percent tied to motor sport, timing and racing,” he said.

Unlike his fellow watchmakers (save, perhaps, Mr. Hayek), Mr. Johansson has worn his watches at grueling events like the Total 24 Hours of Spa race in Belgium, where speeds can reach 290 kilometers an hour, or 180 m.p.h. “It’s the absolute truest test of a mechanical chronograph,” he said.

The timepieces incorporate design elements that evoke the colorful racing flags seen on a Grand Prix track, or materials borrowed from the cars themselves, as is the case with the new Mark VIII Carbon Fiber chronographs, which are machined from a solid block of aircraft-grade billet carbon fiber. But Mr. Johansson does not get hung up on the verisimilitude of his designs.

“From my perspective, a car is a car and a watch is a watch,” he said. “I don’t see why you have to make it look like a brake pedal.”

STEFAN JOHANSSON E GLI SPORTIVI SVEDESI 

Older readers will definitely remember Stefan Johansson, the Swedish driver who has competed on many circuits. In ‘83 he was the test pilot of the Spirit Team and has also been part of other teams including the Ferrari F1, raced Alboreto and Kristensen and in 1997 won the 24 Hours of Le Mans. He also recently took part in the Lamborghini  Blancpain Super Trofeo.

Throughout the years other passions have emerged for Johansson including painting, which helped him overcome the death of his friend and colleague Elio De Angelis, advice for new tracks, television commentating and now watch designing.

STEFAN JOHANSSON VAXJO

These watches, which Stefan Johansson personally tests, were created in 1999. The collection has a robust stainless steel case and PVD 47 mm diameter dials and classical Sicilian, more sporty look.

Vaxjo, where he was born, is the name of his timepieces. Designed by a professional driver who wanted to give the collection the name of Mark VIII taking care of every detail, since it is directed to an elite audience. It is always limited series, which often do not reach 250 makes, and the price is around 6,500 euros, but they can also be higher for certain models.

The watches are equipped with the ever-green-caliber Valjoux 7750 self-matic 7751, or entered as a chassis, there is the numbering and, if desired, the owners can also have their names engraved.

In the collection there are various forms of inspiration, these letters distinguish them: C, D, E, F. In the first, there is the memory of the victory at Le Mans with a countdown of 24 hours. Retro style but with modern accents with oversized counter 12 hours and the use of carbon fiber dial, and a third color in the classical accentuated in the last, aimed at another driver of the family: Stefan’s father, who was nicknamed "Littleleaf " in this hand placed on a leaf and the watch hand. 

JT - George Daniels, inventor of the coaxial escapement (an improved version of the lever escapement, the mechanism which regulates timekeeping in a mechanical watch) and perhaps the most influential watchmaker of the 20^th century passed away late last month. He was also an automobile collector and avid vintage racer. You’re now a small part of the fabric of the modern watch industry. What are your thoughts on Daniels passing?

SJ – I never met the man but I certainly know about him very well. I’m not entrenched in the watch industry the way I am in racing. I don’t know all of the players yet. But I’ve read a lot about him as a fan of watches and I knew that he was a racing enthusiast so I was very aware of him.

He was one of the premier watchmakers in history and everybody within the watch industry had a massively high regard for him.

JT – Daniels is one of several high profile people in the watch industry to pass away recently. Others include Gino Macaluso (founder of Girard-Perregeaux and JeanRichard), Gerald Genta (watch designer for companies including IWC, Patek Philippe, Audemars Piguet, Omega, Bvlgari and his own eponymous brand) and Rolf Schnyder (CEO of Ulysse Nardin). These and other senior members of the watch world contributed greatly to mechanical watchmaking but with their passing the watch industry must continue to move forward. Where do you see progress being made today?

SJ – I think the biggest progress is in CNC (computer numerical control machining). You can manufacture watch components in such a precise and efficient way now. In the era these gentlemen were a part of, certainly initially, it used to be that all of that production had to be done by hand.

They could labor away for years trying to build one special piece. Now they design and build a component on a CAD (computer aided design) program. Boom! Next thing you know, there’s the prototype component in two weeks if you’re really pushing it. I think that’s a huge difference that technology is making.

There is a great amount of interesting interpretations on how to show the time, with some very complicated movements and technical solutions, without the CNC manufacturing they would most likely be impossible to make, or they would have taken several years to be realized.

JT – What are your thoughts on the most recent F1 race, the debut Indian Grand Prix?

SJ – Just from watching on TV which is never the same as being on the track itself, it looked like the track was interesting and most of the drivers seemed to have positive comments about it. But again, there was not too much passing. The result was the same as it looked after lap one with the same driver leading. Whether that’s another Tilke trait (well-known circuit designer Hermann Tilke, designed the Buddh International Circuit) or coincidence I don’t know.

But it looked like the overall show was good. There was a big crowd and they seemed to be very enthusiastic about it. I think it’s fantastic that F1 is in India now because that’s obviously another enormous automotive market that’s opening up. It strikes me that they got a better level of interest there than in China for example.

JT – What’s your view of the latest incident between Felipe Massa and Lewis Hamilton which occurred during the race?

SJ – Here’s my take. I think they’re both sick and tired of being around each other. And of course it’s just coincidence that it happens to be that way. I think it was unfair to put the blame on anyone, in my view it was a racing incident and if anything I think it was a almost clumsy situation on both sides this time.

Lewis wasn’t committed enough. Massa left the door open in the beginning of the corner, far too open to then defend. It was just a mess. It was a very low percentage move from both of them really. But as we’ve discussed already, it’s a typical problem when you’re not 100 percent confident as a driver, things don’t come easily. Making the right decision happens so quickly, and it has to be instinctive. You can’t commit half-way to a move. You either commit and go for the move or back off.

I don’t necessarily agree with the FIA using a different ex-driver as the steward at ever GP, It’s like they almost feel like they have to do something to justify themselves being there. There will always be incident from time to time when two people race and it doesn’t necessarily have to be anyone’s fault.

JT – There are 19 races on the calendar for the 2011 season. It’s been a long haul so far. What was the longest season you raced in F1? And, do you think the longer schedule is taking a toll on drivers and teams?

SJ – I don’t think it was ever more than 16 races when I was driving. Yes, I think scheduling these days is a huge drain across motorsports. It’s hard on families and the divorce rates are horrendous. The teams, the drivers, the guys are never home. It’s the nature of the beast now but it’s tricky.

Obviously, the more races there are the more revenue is generated. But I think there has to be a balance. When we did 16 races - that was quite a good schedule. When you get up near 20, that gets very tough. There are still two more races left to do. Then they (F1) have maybe a month off and it’s back to the testing program. That goes through the winter and then you’re straight back into the season schedule again. It’s always been intense in F1 but I’ve never known it to be this intense.

JT – What do you think of Sebastian Vettel’s performance this year, putting aside the fantastic car that Adrian Newey and Red Bull Racing have given him?

SJ – Right now I think he’s as good as anyone in F1, if not better. If you compare his performance to [Mark] Webber’s last year and then look at it this year, he’s a level above that now. The gap between he and Webber is constantly several tenths. Webber hasn’t really been close to Vettel in any race this year. He’s elevated his performance again this year and he’s got so much better than he was before. We talked about it in previous blogs and I thought that once he clinched the 2011 title he’d get even better. That’s exactly what’s happened. He’s driving so relaxed now that he’s doing everything absolutely perfectly.

He’s qualifying on the pole consistently and banging out fastest race lap with just a few laps left in the races. It’s just like walking on the pavement for him right now. It’s all absolutely natural for him and it’s the best state of mind you can be in as a driver. I’ve been there, we’ve all been there. There are stages when you have the best car, the best team and all the confidence in the world. It’s magic. You don’t even think about it. Everything’s so effortless.

JT – Another F1 grand prix effort was announced recently in New Jersey. The Grand Prix of America is supposed to debut there in June 2013, running along the banks of the Hudson River just across from Manhattan. Meanwhile, the United States Grand Prix in Austin, Texas is still supposedly on-track for November 2012. What are your thoughts on the U.S. potentially having two F1 grand prix?

SJ – If they both happen I think it’s fantastic. But I can’t help but be cynical though. It’s not because this is being done in America. I just think that anyone who is trying to build a grand prix circuit with private funding has got a huge battle in front of them. I don’t know how you make the numbers work.

It’s such a huge investment and if you look at the most recently constructed grand prix tracks around the world they’ve mostly been funded by government money. They don’t have to show a profit necessarily because they are built partly to help promote a country or region or whatever.

But then you have the Singapore Grand Prix which is maybe the smartest example because they run on the streets and the investment there is different. Obviously it has been a huge success as well. Since the grand prix in New Jersey is being run on the streets that could make sense. All of the street races, wherever you go, whether they’re F1 races or IndyCar races, are generally big success initially. They take the race to the public, not the other way around.

I think Austin will be a struggle. They’re fighting tooth and nail to get the funding they need to finish the project.

JT – It does seem possible that there is enough interest to support two F1 races in the U.S. and certainly, it has been a long held desire of F1 to be in the New York City area.

SJ – From that point of view the New Jersey race is fantastic. I think the two obvious areas where they should have a grand prix are either in Los Angeles or New York City. I think if it comes off, the New Jersey race will be phenomenal.

JT – Scott Dixon has, among other drivers, been doing significant testing of the new IndyCar Dallara chassis. What do you hear about how testing is progressing?

SJ – Seemingly, all of the drivers are impressed with the car despite the way it looks. So far it’s performing quite well apparently. I think all or most of the drivers will rotate through the testing of the cars. There are at least two cars running now, one Chevy-powered car and one Honda-powered car. The drivers are splitting the driving duties between ovals and road courses. If the performance is there maybe the look will eventually grow on you also…