With Formula 1 arriving in Madrid this scorching summer, it is now apparently the perfect time for TAG Heuer to launch a super-hot, redesigned Carrera.
The La Chaux-de-Fonds-based watchmaker reworked the Carrera Chronograph Sport (its first real overhaul of the model since 2020), then included five new references. All of that lands alongside the launch of TAG Heuer’s title sponsorship of the Spanish Grand Prix, Formula 1’s first Madrid race since 1981.
The most significant change is size: the case drops from 44mm to 42mm, thickness falls from 15.48mm to 14.17mm, and the lug-to-lug shrinks from 49.8mm to 48.6mm. The old solid-ceramic bezel is gone, replaced by a fixed steel frame holding a ceramic tachymeter insert.
The dial borrows the large printed 60-second track from TAG Heuer’s “Glassbox” Carrera, swapping out the previous generation’s faceted hour markers, and the caseback now carries an engraved Victory Wreath.
The bracelet gets a new easy-link micro-adjustment system, and the watch is available on either an H-shaped steel bracelet or a perforated leather strap. Five dial colors are available: black opaline, blue, green, silver, and one additional colorway.
Inside, the movement is still the same in-house Calibre TH20-00, an automatic column-wheel chronograph with an 80-hour power reserve that carries straight over from the outgoing generation.
Does every “new” watch need a new movement?
TAG Heuer could have just called this a fresh chronograph and leaned on the Formula 1 tie-in to sell it. Instead, the actual news is more specific: the case got smaller and more in line with modern proportions, the bezel construction changed, and the dial picked up real legibility upgrades, all while the brand kept a movement that was already working.
The whole thing tracks with where TAG Heuer’s Carrera line has been heading for a while now (and its spot among the best Formula 1 watches money can buy). The “Glassbox” models have carried most of the design attention over the past few years, while the Chronograph Sport sat mostly untouched at a bulkier 44mm.
Pulling design language from the Glassbox into this redesign, as opposed to just launching something totally separate, keeps the Carrera family looking like a coherent lineup instead of a scattered set of sub-collections competing for attention.
Where to buy it
The TAG Heuer Carrera Chronograph Sport is available now at tagheuer.com and in boutiques, priced from $6,650 to $6,850 depending on strap and dial.
