The New Watch on the F1 Paddock

The Formula 1 paddock has long been one of the most closely watched real estate in luxury. Not because of the cars, or the clothes, but because of the wrists. We’ve spotted Richard Mille on Lando Norris, TAG Heuer on Max Verstappen, IWC on Lewis Hamilton — until Ferrari came calling. The paddock is essentially a moving showcase for Swiss horological prestige, where a watch spotted on the right wrist can shift a brand's trajectory overnight.

Which is what made the Melbourne race weekend this year quiet significant.

At the season-opening Australian Grand Prix, Kush Maini — Alpine Academy driver, F1 reserve driver, and one of India's most quietly compelling motorsport stories — was photographed in the paddock wearing the Rotoris Astonia Sports Chronograph in Phantom Black.

Rotoris is an Indian watch brand that launched recently; and as far as anyone can confirm, no Indian watch brand had ever appeared on an F1 grid before. The brand, co-founded by four big Indian names (Aakash Anand, Prerna Gupta, Anant Narula, Kunal Kapania) recently received $3 in seed funding from Nikhil Kamath, Vivek Oberoi, and Tanmay Bhatt among others. The brand launched in February with 2,100 numbered pieces, available only through invitation. There's an experience space in Greater Kailash called Rotoris House, where the emphasis is on immersion.

The Astonia, the watch Kush was spotted wearing, is a 42mm matte black 316L stainless steel case, with a tachymetre bezel, a sapphire crystal, and an FKM rubber strap. At its heart is what Rotoris calls Q-MATIC technology, a meca-quartz hybrid using Seiko's TMI VK63 movement. The result is quartz accuracy, but with a sweeping chronograph hand and mechanical pushers that feel satisfyingly analogue.

Maini, for his part, is the right person for this moment. Born in Bangalore in 2000, he's spent the better part of a decade grinding through every tier of motorsport — Italian Formula 4, F3, now his fourth season in Formula 2 with ART Grand Prix. Two race wins, seven podiums, a Monaco Sprint victory in 2024.

For Rotoris, it's definitely a win. With the Astonia on the right wrist, in the right paddock, at the right time? It's big!