The sign on the workshop door during Bruce McLaren’s days at Cooper Racing appropriately captured the earnestness of a man who was never one to shy away from breaking convention. Bruce’s restless ambition led him to establish his own racing team, but when he lined up on the grid for the Monaco Grand Prix in a self-built chassis on the 22 May 1966, could even he have imagined it would be the beginning of such a remarkable journey? The same could be said of Richard Mille when he founded his eponymous brand in 2001. His mission, to push high-end, hand-made watchmaking to the very limits of technical innovation, saw him – like Bruce – break with tradition and shake up the established order with a truly visionary approach.

Half a point. That’s all that separated Alain Prost from title triumph in 1984. Instead, the closest championship in Formula 1 history went the way of McLaren team-mate Niki Lauda – an outcome made only more agonising for Alain who, just 12 months prior, had seen the ’83 title slip through his fingers by two points. Undeterred, the Frenchman persevered once more in ’85. He clinched the championship with fourth place at the European Grand Prix to become France’s first Formula 1 World Drivers’ Champion and fulfil a long-held dream of not just his, but that of a nation.

Alain didn’t have to wait long for his second title, but the odds looked stacked against him for much of the 1986 season finale: a titanic three-way tussle between himself, Nigel Mansell and Nelson Piquet on the streets of Adelaide. With Mansell the heavy favourite and on pole, a resolute Alain remained unfazed: “Actually, I like this situation. In a way, it’s like driving for your life – you have to win.” And that’s exactly what he did. A dramatic tyre failure saw Mansell’s championship chances in tatters with 19 laps to go and left Williams with no option but to pit Piquet for fresh tyres for his own safety. It promoted Alain into the lead, but victory was far from assured, with Alain’s fuel-read out showing as negative for the final 15 laps. He held his nerve to bring his MP4/2C home, just over four seconds ahead of the hard-charging Piquet.

Racing is about winning, yet winning isn’t everything. Some of the sport’s greatest performances never culminated in champagne showers on the top step of the podium. If you want an example, look no further than the streets of Baku in 2018. After the opening lap, Fernando Alonso limped into the pits with two punctures and a heavily damaged car. When most drivers would have thrown in the towel, an indomitable Fernando persevered with his customary relentless focus and intensity, and had the temerity to fight until the last to drag himself into a seemingly implausible seventh place.

At the 101st attempt, Carlos Sainz finally took his place on the rostrum after battling through the field from last on the grid in an enthralling 2019 Brazilian Grand Prix. However, a wait for post-race penalties to be determined, one of which would crucially promote Carlos from fourth to third, meant this was no ordinary podium. It took place in the dying light at Interlagos, in front of empty grandstands, but this did little to diminish the magnitude of what had been achieved. If anything, it only served to make the occasion more memorable, as Carlos received his first Formula 1 trophy joined not by dignitaries and rival drivers, but by everyone in the team in a moment of unbridled jubilation.

Richard Mille himself said: “I want people who see my watches to go, ‘Wow!’” It’s a response you sense Lando Norris is equally keen to elicit from those who lay eyes on his helmet designs: “Ever since I started racing I customised whatever I could, and in F1 the helmet is one of the few areas a driver has creative input.” But after a spectacular maiden campaign in the series, which saw Lando voted Formula 1’s Rookie of the Year, it’s safe to assume many fans uttered that same three-letter word in appreciation of his impressive on-track exploits, as he refused to crack under pressure and repeatedly rose to the occasion on motorsport’s biggest stage.