Pilot Felipe Massa spotted wearing a Richard Mille

At the Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi, Felipe Massa was photographed wearing the Richard Mille RM 011 Felipe Massa Flyback Chronograph — the watch that bears his name, and whose development he was actively involved in during his years competing in Formula 1 with Scuderia Ferrari. It is a rare instance of a driver wearing not just a sponsor's watch, but a co-creation.

The Richard Mille RM 011 debuted in 2007 and remains one of the most technically accomplished flyback chronographs in independent watchmaking. At its heart is the calibre RMAC2, a skeletonised automatic movement built on a grade-5 titanium baseplate with multilevel bridges machined from the same material. The movement delivers hours, minutes, small seconds, date, month, 12-hour flyback chronograph, and a function selector to prevent accidental crown manipulation — a feature conceived directly from Massa's feedback about wrist movement inside an F1 cockpit. Power reserve sits at approximately 55 hours.

The case itself is an engineering statement. Depending on the reference iteration, the RM 011 uses grade-5 titanium, red gold, white gold, or NTPT Carbon — a layered carbon composite originally developed for America's Cup yacht sails. Case dimensions run 50mm × 40mm × 16mm, large by classical standards but proportioned for high-legibility under race conditions. Sapphire crystals front and back expose every architectural detail of the movement.

For collectors, the RM 011 Felipe Massa editions occupy a specific and respected niche. Unlike some Richard Mille celebrity references that lean on name recognition alone, the Massa collaboration is documented with genuine technical input from the athlete. Limited production runs, material variations, and the watch's direct Formula 1 lineage sustain strong secondary market demand across all iterations.

Massa retired from F1 in 2017 — controversially, given the 2008 championship dispute — but his association with Richard Mille remains one of the most authentic athlete-brand partnerships in luxury watchmaking. The RM 011's retail positioning above $130,000 USD reflects its movement complexity and case materials; grey market values have historically traded at or above that figure for desirable variants.