TAG Heuer, world leader in prestige sports watches and chronographs, gives a foretaste of Formula 1 motor-racing to Sébastien Buemi, a bright young hope in Swiss automobile sport.

On the Luc circuit in the south of France, thanks to TAG Heuer, a young hopeful in Swiss automobile sport was able to drive his first few laps at the wheel of a Formula 1 racing—car, an Arrows-Ford A20 from the “TAG Heuer Formula 1 driving school with AGS”.

Sébastien Buemi, aged just 15 and a native of Aigle, in the canton of Vaud, Switzerland, is currently considered one of the most promising young Swiss talents in automobile sports. After 10 years of karting, a discipline where he has won the Swiss Mini championships in 1997/98/99 and Super Mini in 2000, the Bridgestone Cup Junior category in 2002, the Italian Open, and 4th place in the 2003 European Championships, in 2004 Sébastien has been racing in Formula BMW ADAC Germany with the support of TAG Heuer. The Formula BMW ADAC Germany championship features races between 30 young drivers from more than 14 different countries, and is considered one of the most competitive and significant championships for aspiring Formula 1 drivers. After just 10 races, Sébastien is ranked 4th in the Championship, having earned 2 pole positions and 4 podium places. TAG Heuer, the prestigious Swiss reference brand in the field of sports watches and chronographs, has been involved in Formula 1 for over 30 years with the Ferrari and McLaren teams, as well as timekeeping for the championship from 1992 to 2003. It thus rapidly spotted Sébastien as a possible great future champion, endowed with the potential to one day reach the supreme Formula which already features the performances of a famous ambassador of the brand, Kimi Raïkkonen, second in the 2003 World Championship and considered the best driver in the current young generation.
It is from this perspective that TAG Heuer decided to offer Sébastien Buemi his first spin in a Formula 1 racing car, by allowing him to drive a few laps at the Luc circuit, at the wheel of an Arrows Ford A20 (ex- Pedro de la Rosa) from the “TAG Heuer driving school with AGS”.
The “TAG Heuer driving school with AGS” is a genuine Formula 1 racing team which, in partnership with AGS Formula 1, runs a dozen or so Formula 1 single seater cars including 2 Arrows Ford-A20 and 3 AGS-Ford 2002/2003. Unique in the world, the vocation of this driving school, thanks to classes given at various levels and in various phases, is to enable both amateurs and young drivers to discover the subtleties and sensations of driving a 500 kg Formula 1 car equipped with an almost 700hp engine. AGS Formula 1, which is partnering TAG Heuer in this venture, was directly involved in the FIA Formula 1 World Championship until the early 1990s. Since them, it has become the world leader in top-level single seater driving schools and is equipped with a modern 2,500 sq.m. factory where the single seaters are designed, developed, built and maintained. AGS built three new single seaters in 2002/2003 and two twin seater (X2) Formula 1 cars in 2003/2004. TAG Heuer works in close cooperation with AGS Formula 1, in parallel with its cooperation with the McLaren-Mercedes team, in testing and developing chronographs of extreme precision and quality. TAG Heuer also uses the “TAG Heuer driving school with AGS” to enable its best Customers to discover one of the sources of inspiration for the brand’s watchmakers and designers by enabling them, for a day, to become Formula 1 drivers.
Sébastien Buemi soon got to grips with the Arrows-Ford, driving a series of regular laps under 50 seconds, a time considered extremely fast by the professional drivers accustomed to this circuit. “I am delighted with this experience and thank TAG Heuer for offering me this opportunity”, said Sébastien after his first laps. “The sensations are extraordinary, and more than ever after this experience, I am determined to conquer the Formula-BMW championship in order to gradually climb the rungs that I hope will one day lead to Formula 1”.
“We are very pleased to be supporting a talented young Swiss driver”, said Jean-Christophe Babin, CEO of TAG Heuer and himself an amateur driver with a passionate enthusiasm for automobile sports, sailing, golf and skiing. “TAG Heuer’s vocation is to contribute to the legend and the prosperity of Swiss watchmaking, and to constantly push its limits. It is thanks to an extremely close and intimate involvement with high level sports and competitors, such as Tiger Woods, Ayrton Senna or Kimi Raïkkonen, that TAG Heuer has succeeded in developing unique timepieces, such as the Microtimer F1, the world’s first thousandth of a second chronograph; the new Link, a symbol of sport and elegance; or, most recently, the Monaco V4, a revolutionary concept watch presented at Baselworld 2004. With extremely young hopefuls such as Sébastien, we are building the future and guaranteeing new sources of inspiration for our watchmakers of tomorrow. It is our responsibility, as a great Swiss watch brand, ranked fourth on the world market, to help young Swiss sports talents to develop their potential”, concluded a smiling Jean-Christophe Babin, still wearing the helmet and gloves he had donned for his own few laps at the wheel of an AGS Formula 1, but 8 seconds per lap behind young Sébastien… A gentleman driver, one might say!

TAG Heuer, manufacturer of prestigious watches and chronographs since 1860, is currently ranked fourth on the world luxury watch market. This Swiss brand has always been active in the world of sport, developing and creating the most precise measuring instruments and sports chronographs.

Photo: Sebastian Buemi, Jean-Christophe Babin, CEO&President TAG Heuer

Source: Tag Heuer Press Release

www.tagheuer.com
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