Rolex and motor sport

Drivers of progress

Drivers of progress

The mechanical movement personified

Since the 1930s, Rolex has forged strong bonds with some exceptional racing drivers. While motor sport has been blazing new trails on the road to progress for more than a century, the drivers are the ones who best embody this constantly evolving momentum.

Among the key figures supported by Rolex, some have left a lasting impression on their era and contributed to shifts in the sport or society, thereby witnessing significant advances in their discipline.

Malcolm Campbell

Sir Malcom Campbell
A pioneer of speed

Record-breaker Sir Malcolm Campbell was one of the great architects of the first quest for motor sport achievement. Although he tried his hand at nautical records in the late 1930s, it was on land that he achieved his greatest feats, setting nine world speed records between 1924 and 1935.

At Bonneville Salt Flats, on 3 September 1935, Campbell set his last record. At the wheel of his Bluebird, he became the first man to drive at more than 300 miles per hour, averaging 301.337 mph (484.955 km/h) over a distance of one mile.

Campbell was inducted into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame in 1990 and the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America in 1994.

Formula &

Sir Jackie Stewart
A tireless safety advocate

Sir Jackie Stewart is one of the greatest personalities in Formula 1®. In addition to his success on the track, he has contributed profoundly to the development of the ultimate motor sport category.

Born in 1939, Stewart won three Formula 1® World Drivers’ Championships, in 1969, 1971 and 1973. The “Flying Scot” won 27 of the 99 Grands Prix he participated in. Having lost several friends on the track, Sir Jackie was a pioneer in the campaign for driver safety from the late 1960s onwards. Through sheer tenacity, he managed to make his voice heard by racing authorities. As a result, the layout of some circuits and the design of the cars were altered.

The flying scot

Stewart joined the Rolex family in 1968. The title of his autobiography, Winning Is Not Enough, reflects his approach. “These words represent the central theme of my life,” he says. “They fully reflect the pursuit of excellence, the occasional satisfaction of success, the frustration of defeat and the constant hunger to prove myself.”

Jamie Chadwick
A woman of the future

Jamie Chadwick was not yet 16 when she won the Silverstone 24 Hour in 2015. The win helped make her the first woman champion of the British GT Championship, as well as the youngest winner of the series. The three-time winner of the W Series, the women’s Formula 3 championship, Chadwick is a test driver for the Williams Racing team in Formula 1®. In 2023, she is also involved in the Indy NXT championship in the United States, the precursor to IndyCar Series, the highest class of regional North American open-wheel single-seater formula racing. Chadwick has been a Rolex Testimonee since 2022 and embodies the evolution of motor sport to be inclusive of women.

Jamie Chadwick