SailGP aims to be a different kind of race series. Unlike Formula One, which this year saw Rolex step away from its position as official timekeeping sponsor as LVMH stepped in to secure a multi-brand deal with the top motorsport race series said to be worth $1 billion over a decade, SailGP aims to create a more even playing field for each team. With identical boats, equal access to all electronic data generated by every team, and a spending cap to avoid a finance-fueled technology and talent arms race, SailGP says each race will reward the best sailors, strategists, and tacticians, rather than those with the deepest pockets.
It’s also fundamentally co-ed. Every team has at least one woman in the crew. Hannah Mills, one of the most successful sailors in history and a two-time Olympic Games gold-medalist, is the strategist for the Emirates GBR team. She’s also been a Rolex testimonee since 2022 and was twice named the Rolex World Sailor of the Year.
“Nothing is as iconic for any global sport, and now with SailGP, as Rolex being a partner,” Mills says, wearing a Rolex Yacht-Master 37 millimeter in rose gold on an Oysterflex bracelet. “For us, as sailors, to have that verification from a brand like Rolex in our sport is massive,” she adds.