The question arises as to why Formula 1 drivers sometimes use watch imitations during races. When watching races, one can notice that the participants wear watches on their arms, but these watches are not real; they are replicas.
The essence of the question is why Formula 1 drivers use such imitations if they are forbidden from wearing real watches, and why they do not participate in races without watches.
These imitated watches are not separate items; we are talking about printed images. They are not printed separately, but directly onto the gloves. Only a print in the shape of a watch is created on the gloves, not actual watches on the driver's wrist. Nevertheless, at first glance, it may seem that the driver is participating in the race while wearing fake watches.
Behind this phenomenon lies an interesting marketing strategy. A clear example is the collaboration between Mercedes and the Swiss watch brand IWC. For instance, Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton was seen in white gloves with a printed watch design during a race. Furthermore, many other drivers also had a watch print on their hands.
During the race, the driver's body is completely covered with protective gear, and special racing gloves are used on the hands. Under such conditions, there is no need for a watch on the wrist. Moreover, for safety reasons, wearing watches is often prohibited. Although drivers do not always wear real watches during the race, this happens extremely rarely. Usually, drivers either wear watches specially designed for racing or do not wear them at all.
Some drivers note that every detail is carefully considered during the race, and every gram matters. Therefore, they try to avoid watches. This raises the question of the logic behind using prints of fake watches. The answer lies in marketing.
When drivers do not wear watches, the wrist area becomes good advertising space for sponsoring brands. Therefore, instead of wearing real watches, their design is placed on the gloves. When the race is shown from different angles, shots appear of the driver's hand holding the steering wheel. In these recordings, the print of a fake watch is visible, which is advertising for some company. This small watch design on the gloves comes into the sight of millions of viewers, which is what is called clever marketing. This is also visible on cameras installed on the driver's helmet and car.