Vettel signs Casio deal

Length of contract: 3 years
Annualized value: US$300,000
Overall value: US$900,000

Sebastian Vettel, the Red Bull driver challenging for the Formula One world championship, has landed a new endorsement deal.

The deal, announced at Spa in the build-up to the Belgian Grand Prix, sees Casio sign the German driver as an official ambassador for Casio's Edifice brand. Also present at the launch was David Coulthard, a Casio ambassador for more than ten years.

"The brand concept is "Speed and Intelligence" and this is a perfect fit with the attributes that lead to success in Grand Prix racing," said Casio's Harald Schroeder. "It automatically adjusts to local time in Europe, USA, Japan and China, while also taking into account Daylight Saving adjustments, all thanks to Casio's Multi Band 6 global radio-controlled timekeeping. In keeping with the Formula One connection, parts of the watch are made from carbon-fiber and although Sebastian has the luxury of his pit crew showing him his lap times on a Pit Board at the race track, the limited edition timepiece also features a 1/20th of a second split-function analogue stopwatch."

Vettel added: "Time is very important for me, but to be honest, the best thing about this watch is the alarm clock, as I get in trouble if I'm late for work!"