Watch Paparazzi

Pilot Charles Leclerc spotted wearing Richard Mille

Charles Leclerc, Scuderia Ferrari's lead Formula 1 driver, was recently spotted wearing the Richard Mille RM 72-01 Automatic Flyback Chronograph in titanium — a watch that shares more engineering philosophy with a racing car than most timepieces dare to attempt. For a driver whose race results hinge on fractions of a second, the choice of a flyback chronograph is far from arbitrary.

The Richard Mille RM 72-01 represents a genuine milestone in the brand's catalog. Unlike several earlier RM chronograph references that relied on modified base ebauches, the RM 72-01 is built around Calibre CRMA7 — an in-house automatic movement developed entirely by Richard Mille and its manufacture partners. The skeletonized architecture exposes the full complication stack: hours, minutes, seconds, date, flyback chronograph function, function indicator, and stop-seconds. The flyback mechanism allows the chronograph to be reset and restarted with a single pusher, eliminating the traditional three-step sequence — a practical advantage that resonates with anyone operating under race conditions.

The titanium case of the RM 72-01 follows Richard Mille's signature tonneau geometry, offering exceptional strength-to-weight ratio and a distinctive wrist presence that remains legible and dynamic. Titanium Grade 5 — the same alloy used in aerospace and motorsport applications — keeps the watch featherlight without compromising structural integrity. The movement is visible through both the dial side and the display back, turning the watch into a wearable demonstration of mechanical architecture.

Leclerc has been a Richard Mille ambassador since 2019, and the brand's deep ties to Formula 1 — through partnerships with multiple drivers and constructors — make the RM 72-01 a natural fit for his profile. Beyond sponsorship, the watch reflects a genuine alignment: both the driver and the reference are built around performance under pressure, precision engineering, and the elimination of unnecessary weight.

On the market, the Richard Mille RM 72-01 Automatic Flyback Chronograph in titanium carries an official retail price of $187,000 USD. In the grey market, demand has pushed values considerably higher, with the reference currently trading around $350,000 USD — nearly double retail — underscoring the sustained collector appetite for complication-driven RM references in traditional metals.