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Pilot Felipe Massa spotted wearing Richard Mille

Felipe Massa, the Brazilian Formula 1 driver who spent over a decade racing for Ferrari and Williams, was recently spotted wearing a Richard Mille RM 35-01 — a timepiece that sits at the intersection of high-performance materials engineering and haute horlogerie. For Massa, a long-standing Richard Mille ambassador, this is less a fashion statement than a statement of alignment: few watch brands have embedded themselves into motorsport culture as deliberately as Richard Mille.

The Richard Mille RM 35-01 was developed in close collaboration with Rafael Nadal and first introduced as an evolution of the RM 035. The case is constructed from NTPT Carbon — North Thin Ply Technology — a layered composite originally developed for America's Cup yacht masts and Formula 1 bodywork. Each case exhibits a unique marbled grain pattern, meaning no two RM 35-01 references are visually identical. The tonneau-shaped case measures 49.94 x 44.50 mm and is paired with a skeletonized manual-winding caliber RMUL2, offering approximately 55 hours of power reserve with a variable geometry rotor and a baseplate constructed from grade 5 titanium.

From a collector standpoint, the RM 35-01 occupies a respected position within the Richard Mille catalog. It is not a limited edition, which gives it broad accessibility relative to more exclusive RM references, yet the NTPT Carbon construction and Nadal association maintain strong desirability. The movement architecture — featuring a torque-limiting crown with a RACS mechanism — reflects genuine engineering intent rather than aesthetic decoration.

Massa's connection to Richard Mille runs deep. The brand has historically partnered with elite athletes across motorsport, tennis, and golf, and Massa has appeared in Richard Mille campaigns throughout his racing career. Wearing the RM 35-01 rather than a motorsport-specific reference like the RM 50-03 McLaren speaks to a personal preference for a slightly more wearable, daily-use piece within an otherwise extreme catalog.

At UK RRP of approximately £85,000, the Richard Mille RM 35-01 sits at the entry tier of the brand's NTPT Carbon offerings. On the secondary market, demand remains consistent, with grey-market prices hovering near or modestly above retail depending on configuration and condition — a sign of stable, if not explosive, collector confidence in this reference.