Watch Paparazzi

Pilot Daniel Ricciardo spotted wearing Richard Mille

Daniel Ricciardo was photographed on McLaren team duties wearing a prototype Richard Mille RM 67-02 finished in the constructor's signature papaya orange — a piece produced exclusively for the McLaren Formula 1 team and officially designated not for public sale. The sighting offers a rare look at a watch that exists outside any retail channel, functioning as a working ambassador piece between two performance-obsessed brands.

The Richard Mille RM 67-02 was introduced as one of the most technically extreme ultra-thin watches in the manufacture's catalogue. Its tonneau-shaped case is constructed from grade 5 titanium and Carbon TPT or Quartz TPT depending on the variant, housing a calibre CRMA7 automatic movement — a proprietary skeletonized base plate architecture developed in partnership with Audemars Piguet Le Locle. The movement operates at 28,800 vph with a 50-hour power reserve, and the entire assembly achieves that extraordinary 7.8mm case thickness while maintaining the structural rigidity Richard Mille demands for wrist-worn motorsport use. The complete watch-and-strap combination weighs just 32 grams, a specification more reminiscent of a carbon fibre chassis component than a luxury timepiece.

Among collectors, the RM 67-02 occupies a specific niche: it is the watch Richard Mille builds for athletes who genuinely wear their pieces under competition conditions. Sprint athlete Wayde van Niekerk famously wore the reference while setting a 400-metre world record. That real-world performance credibility, rare in ultra-luxury horology, underpins strong secondary market demand for every variant. A McLaren-specific prototype, never retailed, sits entirely outside normal market valuation — its worth is largely symbolic and institutional.

Ricciardo's relationship with Richard Mille mirrors the brand's broader Formula 1 strategy. Richard Mille holds deep ties to the paddock, partnering with Ferrari and McLaren at various points, and drivers frequently receive bespoke or limited editions as part of team sponsorship agreements. For Ricciardo, whose personality aligns naturally with bold, technical objects, the papaya RM 67-02 reads as both a team uniform accessory and a genuine collector's artifact.

The standard retail Richard Mille RM 67-02 carries a list price of $141,200 USD. On the grey market, examples trade above retail, with certain Carbon TPT versions reaching $160,000–$180,000 depending on configuration. The McLaren prototype, however, will never appear at auction through normal channels — which, in collector logic, makes it the most valuable version of all.