Photo Credits: Original photographs of watches by Michael Young and Jeff Stein. 

INTRODUCTION

Ayrton Senna is considered to be one of the greatest Formula 1 drivers of all time. Even 30 years after his tragic passing, his memory burns brightly, reignited by the 2024 Netflix Senna series. TAG Heuer is also an icon in Formula 1, boasting an unmatched rich history in the sport. With 2025 marking the watch brand’s return as official timekeeper of Formula 1 and becoming the title sponsor for the Monaco Grand Prix, it’s the perfect time to deep dive into the watches worn by legendary TAG Heuer ambassador Ayrton Senna.

Senna needs no introduction, his name says it all. His heroic drives, character and personal life have been covered elsewhere many times. Here we focus on the watches he wore during his F1 career and what they might have meant to him. Much like his blue Nacional cap, his TAG Heuer watches were an integral part of his persona. Yes, it was a business relationship, but Senna genuinely seemed to enjoy his TAG Heuers, constantly wearing them at almost all times. Not only at the F1 circuits, but everywhere! Whether relaxing at home or at play, like flying his radio-controlled model planes, out on his boat or riding his jetski, his TAG Heuer timepieces rarely left his wrist. He also seemed to take great pleasure in gifting new TAG Heuer watches to friends and family.  Senna had an authentic bond with the brand, even helping to design a watch that would carry his name, the “6000 Senna”. This strong connection lives on even today, with TAG Heuer adopting Senna’s famous catch phrase “Designed to Win” as its latest advertising campaign.

Having said that, a complete collectors guide would be remiss without covering the other brands Senna wore prior to his TAG Heuer relationship. Hence, what follows is an encompassing journey of the watches worn throughout Senna’s 10 year career in Formula 1, 1984-1994.

THE EARLY YEARS

Ayrton Senna was very much a “tool watch” kind of guy, favoring practical functionality over flashy designs or luxury prestige. He usually wore the same watch at home, at work (racing) and at play. Prior to Formula 1, during his Formula Ford and Formula 3 seasons, Senna was mostly seen wearing LCD digital watches, typically a Casio. In his 1984 F1 rookie season with Toleman, Senna wore a Casio TS-1000, distinguishable by the white thermometer dot.

Senna seemed to appreciate the various timing and calculation features these digital watches provided. Even later in his career, Ayrton would still wear a thick digital watch and heart monitor when exercising. If Senna was alive today, no doubt he’d enjoy the modern features of a Smartwatch like the TAG Heuer Connected.

TEAM LOTUS F1

From 1985-1987, Senna would drive for Team Lotus F1. His watch of choice, a Seiko A828 Speed Master Giugiaro Design. Black coated lightweight aluminum with gold lettering, a very nice match for the Lotus JPS livery! It’s unclear whether Senna wore reference A828-4010 or A828-4019, both look the same. Perhaps the difference being the region; the former reference typically in Europe, the latter North America. Whichever the case, Senna can be seen wearing this black and gold Seiko during his Lotus years, including his first win, the ‘85 Portuguese GP!

Senna continued to wear this Seiko while driving the ‘86 JPS Lotus 98T and ‘87 Camel Lotus 99T. Worn while winning the ‘87 Monaco Grand Prix, his first of six record wins at the Principality! But later in the ‘87 season Ayrton switched to a different watch, which this author believes to be a Longines Conquest Titanium Moonphase 4983 (70% certainty).

TAG MCLAREN AND TAG HEUER

Here’s where things start to get interesting! During the time Senna was at Toleman and Lotus, Mansour Ojjeh (CEO of Techniques d’Avant Garde) and Ron Dennis (CEO of McLaren) had teamed up to form TAG McLaren. Ojjeh’s company financed the TAG Turbo Porsche engines that powered TAG McLaren to three world championships in ‘84 (Lauda), ‘85 (Prost) and ‘86 (Prost). TAG Turbo adorned their race car’s livery; under the body work, the TAG logo and Techniques d’Avant Garde were prominently displayed on the engine’s valve covers. 

In ‘85, TAG Group acquired Heuer, which henceforth became known as “TAG Heuer”. In ‘86, TAG Heuer appeared as part of the McLaren car’s race livery, in favor of TAG Turbo. Interestingly, while Prost and his McLaren MP4/2 were featured on TAG Heuer literature, advertisements and even the box of the original TAG Heuer Formula 1, we never actually see Prost with a TAG Heuer on his wrist. Prost wore a different brand during his tenure with TAG McLaren. (As an aside, about a decade after he retired from F1, Prost was sponsored by TAG Heuer again and he’s seen wearing various models during his second era with the watch brand.)

Enter Ayrton Senna in 1988, surely that’s when Senna started wearing TAG Heuer, right? Nope. Like Prost, Senna wore watches of his personal choosing. Neither driver wore a TAG Heuer patch on their racing overalls that year either. The TAG Heuer logo was only on their ‘88 McLaren MP4/4 race cars.

In ‘88, Senna wore a Casio DBT-70W 662 for most of the season and switched to a Seiko A781 Racing Master late season. Below, a Casio on his wrist and TAG Heuer logo on his windshield.

Senna wearing his Seiko A781 Racing Master in Suzuka Japan ‘88 (below), where he clinched his first world championship!

To our knowledge, the specific Casio and Seiko references worn by Senna in 1988 have not been identified before. Hence, the identification of these two watches represents new findings for Senna fans and watch collectors. The Seiko A781 of perhaps particular significance, being his first world championship watch.

THE TAG HEUER SENNA ERA

Having won the 1988 World Championship over archrival Prost, Senna became TAG Heuer’s golden boy. This was signified by the TAG Heuer patch now on the left arm of Senna’s ‘89 racing suit, while Prost still did not wear the patch (pictured below). Indeed, it was Senna who led the famous “Don’t Crack Under Pressure” campaign.

TAG HEUER SUPER 2000 REFERENCE 165.806

The Heuer 2000 collection was released in 1982 and had become a popular series, offered in a variety of styles, by the time the brand became TAG Heuer. The Super 2000 Chronograph was newly introduced in ‘88 and this was the model Senna chose as his first personal TAG Heuer to wear at the ‘89 opening race in Brazil. 

TAG Heuer offered these watches with white or black dials, in stainless steel cases and a bi-metallic version with gold for the bezel studs, as well as the crown and pushers. Ayrton seemed to favor two-tone watches, white or grey dials and brown leather straps. His Super 2000 pictured below (reference 165.806) is an example of his style and taste.

But the Super 2000’s time on Senna’s wrist was short lived, he wore it for only one or two races. By the time of the third race of the 1989 season, the Monaco GP, his famed TAG Heuer Sports Elegance (S/el) would be on his wrist.

TAG HEUER S/EL ANA-DIGI, REFERENCE S25.706C & S25.206M

The Formula 1 watch, released in ‘86, was the first new watch to wear the TAG Heuer logo, but its development by Heuer was already underway prior to TAG’s acquisition. TAG Heuer would next introduce the Sports Elegance (S/el) line in 1987, the first fully in-house developed watch since becoming TAG Heuer. The S/el Chronographs were then introduced sometime in ‘89, appearing in the 1990 TAG Heuer catalog. It was the S/el that would become synonymous with Senna. So much so that today TAG Heuer even refers to its unique shaped links as “Senna S links”.

By Round 3 Monaco May ‘89, Senna had started to wear his most famous watch, TAG Heuer reference S25.706C. Decoded as follows: S25 = two-tone metal, 706 = cream/egg-shell dial, and C = leather strap. The S/el Ana-Digi Chronograph (Analog hands and Digital registers) was the top-of-the-line model then, with 1/100th of a second timing features, including Rally timing, Split or Intermediate timing, and Lap timing. The perfect tool for the reigning F1 world champion!

The S25.706C cemented its place as “the” Senna watch due in part to the story of Senna gifting it to McLaren chief test mechanic, Ron Pellat, at the end of the ‘93 season. This was the first of Senna’s personal watches known to be publicly sold. Auctioned by Bonhams in 2004 and then again in 2007 for about $69,000 USD. A letter of authenticity accompanied the watch, signed by McLaren’s Jo Ramirez and Ron Pallet. The photos above are of Senna’s personal S25.706C from Bonhams auction listings.

At initial release in ‘89, TAG Heuer offered three variations of the S/el Ana-Digi Chronograph model:

• An all stainless steel, white dial on metal bracelet – S29.006M (M for metal bracelet)
• A two-tone steel and 18k gold plated, cream dial on leather strap – S25.706C (C for Cuir, French for Leather). The early straps had French “Cuir Veritable” on the underside, later it would change to English “Genuine Leather”.
• A two-tone steel and 18k gold plated, anthracite dial on metal bracelet – S25.206M (M for metal bracelet)

In August ‘89, Senna would begin wearing the anthracite/grey dial at Round 10, the Hungarian GP. As there are no known pictures of the underside of Senna’s personal watch to show the reference number, we assume it must be ref S25.206M, but with its Metal bracelet replaced with a custom fitted brown leather (Cuir) strap. A factory anthracite dial on leather, i.e. S25.206C, was not offered at initial release. In 1989, Senna wore his cream dial S25.706C for the first half of the season and the anthracite dial S25.206M for the second half, including the Japanese GP where Prost and Senna infamously collided. Prost took the ‘89 F1 title as a result. 

In 1990, Senna would alternate between his cream dial and anthracite dial, wearing them about equally during the season. Senna was again wearing his anthracite S25.206M at Suzuka, where he and Prost (now at Ferrari) crashed again at the first corner of the opening lap. This time the result meant Senna won the 1990 world championship, with his anthracite S25.206M becoming his second world championship watch! Pictured below, cream dial (left), anthracite (right).

As a side note, there is a promotional photo of Senna sitting in his ‘90 McLaren MP4/5B wearing a black dial two-tone Series 2000 chronograph, believed to be ref 565.306. However, Senna never wore this watch at any race during the ‘90 season. It’s unclear as to whether he actually owned and wore this Series 2000 or simply wore it for the promotional photoshoot.

1990 also saw Gerhard Berger join McLaren as Senna’s teammate. Gerhard wore the TAG Heuer patch on his racesuit and both the cream dial S25.706C and anthracite S25.206M on brown leather straps, just like Ayrton. Berger seemed to favor the anthracite color. All future McLaren drivers from this point on would wear TAG Heuer, until the brand ended its McLaren relationship in 2015.

In 1991, Senna would continue with his S/el pair at every race, except one. His third world championship would again be decided at the Japanese GP, but this time wearing a different watch. Before we go there, let’s cover the evolution of the ‘Senna’ S/el Ana-Digi models. TAG Heuer made subtle changes over the model’s production run from 1989-99.

Original:

• As mentioned previously, at initial release the three references were: S29.006M (incidentally, often worn by Ron Dennis) and the two worn by Senna, S25.706C and S25.206M. The early original versions only had only “200 METERS” on the dial, no “professional”, and the placement of “Swiss Made” is in a different spot compared to later revisions. They also had polished case-back covers with the reference number above the TAG Heuer shield logo. The movement was the ETA 251.251.

First revision:

• Around 1991, TAG Heuer would make subtle changes. The suffix M and C were dropped. The models became S29.006 (white dial), S25.706 (cream dial), and S25.206 (anthracite dial), now offered on either Metal bracelet or Cuir/Leather strap. The dial text “professional” was added above “200 METERS” and the case-back covers changed to a matte finish with the reference number below the TAG Heuer logo. The ETA 251.252 started to find its way into these models, which functioned exactly as the ETA 251.251 that it replaced.

Final revision:

• TAG Heuer changed its reference numbering scheme for all watches around 1993, including the S/el. The S29.006 to CG1111 (white dial), the S25.706 to CG1123 (cream dial), and S25.206 to CG1122 (anthracite dial). Other than the reference number change, the watches were nearly identical to previous versions except for one detail. The case on the previous versions had a satin finish, but the CG cases changed to a fine brushed finish. Two new models were added in the mid-late ‘90s, a stainless steel blue dial CG1113 and two-tone green dial CG1124; these seem to be limited to Japan.

Collectors today embrace all these executions as ‘Senna’ watches, they are basically the same watch. But for the purist, it should be noted that Senna wore the originals, as initially released in ‘89 and shown in the ‘90 TAG Heuer catalog.

With that, let’s return to the 1991 season and the story of Senna’s next watch.

TAG HEUER FORMULA 1 CHRONO REFERENCE 472.513

Throughout the 1991 season, Senna continued to exclusively stick with his S/el Ana-Digis, wearing his anthracite dial S25.206M at the majority of the races. The lone exception came at the Japanese Grand Prix on October 20th where he would clinch his third world championship, allowing teammate Gerhard Berger to pass him for the race win, in appreciation for Berger’s help throughout the season.

The original red 385.513 Formula 1 watch had been the McLaren mechanics and pit crews’ team watch since 1986. Then from 1990 until some point in ‘92, the red Formula 1 Chrono 472.513 was worn by crew members. This chronograph is relatively easy to spot, having a red strap to match its bezel, with a grey dial and three black registers. Curiously, during the weekend of the ‘91 Japanese GP, Senna was wearing the 472.513 McLaren crews’ team watch too!

Knowing he had a good chance of clinching the title in Japan, was it Senna’s way of honoring the team by saying “I’m just like all the mechanics and crew that supported me” by wearing the same watch? Or was he paying tribute to Honda and Japan by wearing a red colored watch? Or had something happened to his S/el, necessitating a last-minute replacement watch to wear? Whatever the reason, this was the only occasion that Senna ever wore the red F1 Chrono 472.513 at a Formula 1 Grand Prix. But what an occasion it was, becoming his third world championship watch and showing prominently on his wrist as Senna celebrated with champagne on the podium!

TAG HEUER S/EL REFERENCE S89.206

Senna began 1992 continuing with his trusty S/el Ana-Digi duo during the first six races, the cream dial S25.706C getting most of his wrist time. However, at Round 7 Canada June ‘92, Senna is seen wearing an all stainless steel S/el three-hand watch with an anthracite dial for the first time, reference S89.206/WG5110. This automatic chronometer is distinguished by three lines of text and an indented center circle within the dial, which is visible in certain photos such as the one in the Appendix.

The quartz reference S99.206/WG1113 has two lines of text and early S99 models (circa 1992) did not have indented circular centers, hence the S99 was not likely Senna’s watch. Senna wore his S89.206 at five grand prix races in succession during the 1992 season. This anthracite dial three-hander would be his S/el swan song, as Ayrton would next turn his attention to the newly released TAG Heuer 6000 Series.

TAG HEUER 6000 SERIES REFERENCE WH1151

The TAG Heuer 6000 Series was launched in 1992 as the new top of the line model, positioned above the S/el. It featured precious metal, like all solid 18k gold and even a limited number of platinum models. Now firmly viewed as the world’s top driver, it seemed only natural for Senna to be wearing TAG Heuer’s latest top tier watch. At the Belgium Grand Prix August ‘92, Senna chose the quartz WH1151 bi-metal (steel and solid gold) white dial, on brown leather as his first 6000 Series to wear. 

Senna is pictured above at the Italian Grand Prix (September 1992) wearing the same watch. Senna wore this watch at most races for the remainder of the ‘92 season. One can tell it’s the quartz model by spotting two lines of text: “professional” and “200 METERS”, and line hour markers at 6 and 9 o’clock. The automatic chronometer version has three lines of text: “Chronometer”, “Officially certified”, and “200 METERS”, and triangle hour markers at 6 and 9. An important detail, as the automatic WH5151 is widely perceived to be “the” Senna 6000, but he actually wore the quartz WH1151 quite often, a fact not well known to most Senna watch collectors.

This side-by-side image, created from the 1994/1995 catalogue, shows the difference: Quartz WH1151 on the left, Automatic WH5151 on the right. 

The ETA 955.112 movement is used for the quartz WH1151, the ETA 2892.A2 in the automatic. The dial of the 6000 Series would evolve in later years. Around 1995, quartz models would change to have triangle markers at 6 and 9, like the automatic. Around ‘96/’97, the automatic model would change to numeral markers, presumably to keep its look differentiated. Obviously, Senna wore the early pre-’95 models.

During the final seasons of his career, 1993 and 1994, Senna is seen wearing a bi-metal steel and 18k gold 6000, with a white dial, typically on a black leather strap with a gold tang buckle. But was it the Quartz WH1151 or Automatic WH5151 or did he wear both?

Which brings us to the second of Senna’s personal watches to be sold publicly. This watch was reportedly Senna’s TAG Heuer 6000 Series Automatic Chronometer WH5151 from 1993, which he gifted to a business partner. Around 2011, the watch found its way to a Toronto F1 collectable store called Collector Studio, where it was displayed on sale for many years with an asking price of around $50,000 USD. How much the watch actually sold for is unknown.

The above image is of Senna’s personal WH5151 Automatic Chronometer from the Collector Studio’s website, claimed to be worn by Senna when racing. Hence it has long been reputed as the model Senna wore during his last season with McLaren in ‘93 and the same model worn at Williams at the start of ‘94, which tragically ended at Imola (Round 3). But was this specific WH5151 truly Senna’s primary choice when racing? Contrary to popular belief, it was not.

SERIES 6000 — WH1151 vs WH5151

While Senna may have owned the automatic WH5151 at some point, photographic evidence shows Senna wearing the quartz model WH1151 during many races from the ‘92, ‘93 and ‘94 F1 seasons. Going back to Senna’s tool watch nature, it’s not surprising he’d opt to wear the quartz model in actual races, given the harsh vibrations of his Formula 1 cars.

As an example, the above photo from Monza ‘93 clearly shows Senna wearing his quartz WH1151. Noted by two lines of text and line hour markers at 6 and 9 o’clock.

Even the image that TAG Heuer uses to promote Senna’s 6000 shows that Senna is wearing the quartz WH1151 in his ‘94 Williams FW16 F1 car (see below).

Conclusive evidence is found in the book “100 Senna” by Celso De Campos Jr. The book shares photographs of one hundred real items personally owned by Ayrton and kept by the Senna family. Pictured in the book (below) is item no. 100, Senna’s personal TAG Heuer 6000 Series reference WH1151 on a black leather strap. 

Leaving no doubt that the “hero” 6000 model worn by Senna was the quartz reference WH1151. Worn during one of Senna’s most famous wins, the 1993 European Grand Prix, known for his “Lap of the Gods”!

As for WH5151, there hasn’t been a photo found of Ayrton wearing this reference. For the last 15 years or so, reference WH5151 has been widely and repeatedly misstated as Senna’s 6000 Series race watch, but now the truth is known, it’s WH1151. Below, another shot of Ayrton wearing his reference WH1151.

If that 6000 odyssey wasn’t enough, to complete the Senna 6000 story we must cover one or two more.

AYRTON SENNA’S CUSTOM 6000 & PROTO 6000 SENNA EDITION

Photos taken during the off-season in February 1994 show Senna at home and at play, wearing a 6000 Series watch on a bracelet. Upon close inspection, it becomes apparent that this is no ordinary 6000 Series. It’s a special custom watch that TAG Heuer seems to have specifically made for Senna. The dial appears to be a light shade of grey or silver, not used on other watches. It has circular markers, similar to the solid gold 6000, but most importantly a red “S” in the style of Senna’s S logo at 9 o’clock.  See photo below.

It is assumed that this custom 6000 on a bracelet was a kind of prototype of what would become the 6000 Senna Limited Edition, which was released after his death. Senna was said to be wearing a Senna Edition prototype just two days prior to the ‘94 San Marino Grand Prix; meeting with Mike Vogt, TAG Heuer marketing manager, to finalize terms of this first ever Senna branded watch. After Mike Vogt told Senna he wanted to buy one immediately, but employees were not allowed, Ayrton gifted Mike the prototype he was wearing. But when Senna died that tragic weekend on May 1st 1994, Mike never wore it. It was kept locked in a safety deposit box. In Jan 2024, Mike Vogt delivered this prototype back to TAG Heuer and it is now proudly on display at the TAG Heuer Museum.

But is the prototype displayed at TAG Heuer the same watch that Senna wore in photos from the off-season? Maybe, maybe not. For starters, if it were the same watch, it should be on its bracelet as worn by Senna in the off-season photos. In addition, the shade of grey on the dials looks different. But this could be due to photo lighting differences.

Finally, and this is pure speculation, what if Senna’s custom watch was made of precious metal, such as platinum or white gold? As mentioned before, TAG Heuer did release a platinum 6000 Series watch, limited to 99 pieces. At the ‘94 Pacific Grand Prix in Aida Japan (Round 2), Senna apparently told a reporter something like “this watch is too expensive for you”. Which would make sense if he was wearing his custom 6000 at the time, especially if it were made of precious metal like platinum! 

Another shot of Senna wearing his custom 6000 in February ‘94. His girlfriend Adriane Galisteu also wearing a 6000 Series.

The production “6000 Senna” model was planned for an October 1994 launch, but Senna’s death delayed the project, some questioning whether it should even continue. Ultimately, the watch was released in the Spring of 1995, with a portion of the proceeds going to the then newly-formed Ayrton Senna Foundation to benefit charities around the world. Ayrton had specifically suggested the red “S” logo, checkered flag motif, and his favored leather strap as design elements of the watch.

The production version of the Series 6000 Senna Limited Edition differed from the prototype in that the “S” on the dial was changed from red to silver and the dial color from a flat grey to a dark charcoal sunburst grey. The Senna Limited Edition was made available in three sizes: Mens 39 mm (WH1114), Unisex 34 mm (WH1214) and Ladies 29 mm (WH1314). Each version was limited to 1000 pieces and available on a black leather strap or metal bracelet.

The 6000 Senna has become highly sought after in the vintage TAG Heuer collectors market, especially the Men’s size reference WH1114, which is the hardest to find. Rightfully so, as this is the only Senna-branded TAG Heuer watch genuinely “designed by Senna”.

CLOSING

For many Senna watch collectors, owning the same model worn by Senna is enough to make us happy. The great thing is that these watches are relatively affordable, especially compared to vintage Heuer models worn by Formula 1 heroes of the ‘60s and ‘70s. Others may seek the various Senna tribute watches that followed after his death, with TAG Heuer having produced more than 20 different models since his passing. The most special of these has to be the very first Senna limited edition, the “6000 Senna”, as it’s the only one created with Ayrton while alive and quite like the custom prototype he wore.

Collectors with deep pockets may desire to own one of Senna’s personally owned and worn watches. Which begs the question, where are all his personally owned watches today? We assume many are still with the Senna family and/or Ayrton Senna Foundation. Some have been shown during Senna exhibits. This picture is from the 30th Anniversary Senna Forever exhibit, displaying his S25.206M.

In addition, Senna was known to give brand new TAG Heuer watches as gifts to friends, relatives, and close business associates. He even gave TAG Heuer F1 watches to kids as prizes at Karting events that he sponsored. The image below is from a documentary on Senna, made after his ‘90 championship. These kids as adults today could certainly claim they own a TAG Heuer watch personally owned and given to them by Senna.

So, there are many watches, especially TAG Heuers, that have been touched by Senna in some way, just waiting to be discovered. But as time marches on, tracking these down with proper evidence to authenticate their connection to Senna becomes more and more challenging.

APPENDIX: LIST OF WATCHES KNOWN TO HAVE BEEN WORN BY AYRTON SENNA, 1984-1994

CASIO TS-1000 (‘84 Toleman F1)

SEIKO A828-4010/4019 Speed Master (‘85-’87 Lotus F1)

LONGINES 4983 Conquest Titanium Moonphase (‘87 Lotus F1, late season)

CASIO DBT-70W 662 Databank Timetable (‘88 McLaren F1)

SEIKO A781 Racing Master (‘88 McLaren F1, late season *First world championship*)

TAG HEUER 165.806 Super 2000 (‘89 McLaren F1, Brazilian GP)

TAG HEUER S25.706C Sports Elegance (‘89-’93 McLaren F1)

TAG HEUER S25.206M Sports Elegance (‘89-’92 McLaren F1 *Second world championship*)

TAG HEUER 472.513 Formula 1 (‘91 McLaren F1, Japanese GP *Third world championship*)

TAG HEUER S89.206 Sports Elegance (‘92 McLaren F1, mid-season)

TAG HEUER WH1151 Series 6000 Quartz (‘92 late season/’93 McLaren F1 and ‘94 Williams F1)

TAG HEUER WH5151 Series 6000 Automatic (‘93 Personal watch, not worn at F1 Grands Prix)

TAG HEUER Custom 6000 (‘94 Personal watch, prototype of 6000 Senna reference WH1114)

Thanks

Thanks to Michael Young (@Mspeedster) for this fantastic posting, and for his many contributions to the community of collectors over the years. His scholarship regarding the watches worn by Ayrton Senna has been especially important.

Be sure to follow @Mspeedster on Instagram — https://www.instagram.com/mspeedster/

Jeff Stein
April 29, 2025

MASTER GALLERY

The following Gallery includes all the photos that are included above in this posting, as well as some additional photos of the watches worn by Ayrton Senna.