After a brief hiatus, the Rolex SailGP Championship has made a spectacular return, kicking off what is promising to be its biggest, boldest, and most thrilling season yet. At the end of November, the world’s best sailors gathered in Dubai, UAE, for the Emirates Dubai Sail Grand Prix presented by P&O Marinas, marking the inaugural event of the Rolex SailGP Championship’s 2025 Season.
12 months, 13 events & 12 teams mark SailGP’s 2025
The Dubai event kicked off a record-breaking 13-event schedule over the next 12 months – the most events in the shortest timeframe in league history. Alongside returning favorites, such as San Francisco and New York in the US and Cadiz in Spain, the League’s calendar will feature an exciting array of new host cities, including Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; Sassnitz, Germany; Geneva, Switzerland; Portsmouth, UK; and the much-anticipated Auckland, New Zealand.
The 2025 Season also sees an expanded team lineup, with two new nations making their debut in Dubai. The Mubadala Brazil SailGP Team is led by double Olympic medalist and the League’s first-ever female driver, Martine Grael. The Red Bull Italy SailGP Team, which was revealed days before the first event, is helmed by Ruggero Tita, two-time Olympic champion and recently a member of Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli America’s Cup team, while the sailing legend Jimmy Spithill takes on the role of team CEO for the Italian squad.
In Dubai, however, there were only 11 teams on the startline. The French SailGP Team will rejoin the competition at the second event of the season, in Auckland. Their boat, the 12th F50 was unfortunately still under construction at the time of the race in Dubai. The team was awarded five championship points as compensation for opting to miss the opening event.
New foils, amended scoring system and exciting partnerships amid the latest SailGP developments
Amongst the latest innovations that SailGP is introducing this season, are the highly anticipated titanium T- foils. For the first time in Auckland in January 2025, the cutting-edge flying F50 catamarans will feature T- foils, replacing the L-shaped foils used to date. These advanced foils promise more grip, less drag, improved boat control and as a result even greater speeds. During the testing in San Francisco at the end of season 4 a top speed of 101.98 km/h in just 33 km/h of wind was recorded, thus breaking the elusive 100 km/h speed barrier. In stronger winds, the boats are expected to fly above the water at around 110 km/h. The new foils are also set to level the playing field, as all teams will need to adapt to the new design and re-learn how to sail these super-charged flying catamarans.
The scoring system has also changed for the 2025 Season. The points are now awarded to the teams finishing in places 1-10, leaving the last two teams at each event without any points. This applies to both qualifying fleet racing as well as the overall Championship results.
In the lead-up to the Dubai event, several new global partnerships were unveiled, signaling a new era for SailGP. Rolex joined as the title partner of the Rolex SailGP Championship, Emirates became the global airline partner, and DP World was announced as the global smart logistics partner. These new partnerships join existing global league sponsors Mubadala, Oracle, and Apex.
As the championship grows, the stakes for performance have also gotten higher. SailGP announced it would double the season’s prize pool to an impressive $12.8 million USD, providing athletes and teams with even greater motivation to perform, excel and win.
Surprising changes within some of the SailGP sailing teams
The most thrilling changes witnessed at the start of the 2025 Season are within the sailing teams themselves. With revised nationality rules, ten out of the 12 teams now privately owned, leading to a ‘transfer war’ with new owners and management groups seeking to lock down the best talent.
Three-time SailGP champions, Australia, led by Tom Slingsby, have lost two members – wing trimmer Kyle Langford has joined the Red Bull Italy SailGP Team, and grinder/reserve Ed Powys is now competing for ROCKWOOL Racing. Chris Draper has stepped in to replace Langford. While Draper brings both skill and experience to the role (he was a member of Emirates GBR SailGP Team in Season 1, Japan SailGP Team in Season 2 and Canada SailGP Team in Seasons 3 and 4), the question remains – will he be able to recreate the chemistry that was there between Langford, Slingsby and the rest of the Aussie team? The team performed extremely well on day 1 in Dubai, topping the leaderboard, but finished in fifth place after a lackluster performance on day 2.
The New Zealand SailGP Team has seen the departure of their experienced flight controller, Andy Maloney, who chose to take on a challenge with the new kids on the block, the Mubadala Brazil SailGP Team. Leo Takahashi, a talented young Kiwi who previously sailed with Nathan Outteridge in the Japan SailGP Team and later helped the new U.S. SailGP Team, has replaced Maloney in the crucial seat on Amokura. With the Kiwis sailing consistently the whole weekend in Dubai and securing victory in the season’s opening event, there’s no concern about the team’s future or how the replacement will impact their performance.
Giles Scott, who stepped in for Sir Ben Ainslie as the helm of the Emirates GBR SailGP Team midway through Season 4, now helms the newly rebranded Northstar Canada SailGP Team. Scott took over from the fiery Kiwi Phil Robertson, who was instrumental in establishing and launching the Canadian team in the first place.
This shift sparked speculation about who would take over the helm on the British F50 for the new season. Would Ainslie make a return to the Championship? Would Hannah Mills be given the chance behind the wheel as the second female driver in the League? Or would Dylan Fletcher, who helmed the boat in season 1, make a comeback? The answer is Fletcher, who was named the new driver and delivered a standout performance in Dubai, finishing second in the fleet overall.
After a slow first day, the slightly stronger winds on day two brought exhilarating, action-packed racing from start to finish
The sailing conditions in Dubai once again proved challenging and unpredictable. Weak winds on day one made it difficult for the boats to pop up and stay on their foils, even with the largest 29-meter wings in use. Day two brought slightly better conditions, with just enough wind for foiling, but navigating the F50s and keeping them above the water demanded exceptional skill and tactical racing.
The Black Foils displayed remarkable consistency throughout the weekend, securing the first victory of the new season. They now head to Auckland at the top of the Rolex SailGP Championship leaderboard. The Emirates GBR Team claimed second place after a fierce showdown with the reigning champions, Spain, who narrowly missed qualifying for the final race, finishing the event in fourth place.
One of the biggest surprises of the weekend was the U.S. SailGP Team. After a steep learning curve in the end of Season 4, the team’s intensive off-season training clearly paid off. The Americans secured an impressive third-place finish, following a thrilling and hard-fought battle against the Kiwis and the Brits in the winner-takes-all final.
The Switzerland SailGP Team showed signs of progress following a significant shakeup in their sailors’ lineup, while the Germans celebrated their first-ever fleet race victory. However, neither team managed to secure an overall standout result.
The most exciting racing on water returns next month, with the ITM New Zealand SailGrand Prix | Auckland scheduled on 18 and 19 January, with two days of racing in the City of Sails for the first time ever.
