Quotes Sheet

DAY TWO - SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 30, 2025

BONDS Flying Roos driver, Tom Slingsby
“It’s a tough one. In hindsight, we didn’t race it too well, but we got a really nice start. We wanted to be the boat out of phase, so we decided to jibe and do something different — and it worked. We had a great start. It’s one of those tough ones where you’re laying in left and the boat behind you is laying in left; if you turn and go right, he’s going to go straight. When you’re leading, second place is always going to do something different. So we went for a clean rounding, a clean lap, tried to be fast, and unfortunately we came out of that bottom mark in a big header, tacked over, hit another big header and light pressure going back the other way, and we lost a 100-meter lead in a matter of 30 or 40 seconds.”

“Yeah, I mean, we’re now at three wins and two seconds — if we could invert that to two seconds and three wins it would be nicer at this point — but we have so much to be proud of with our team. The franchise and our team are incredibly strong. We’ve got unbelievable people involved, from the shore team to the sailors and everyone behind the scenes. We have an unbelievable squad, and I’m thankful to be part of such an incredible team. It’s a quick turnaround; we’re back in Perth, and we start all over again and try to get our title back.”

“Perth is going to be amazing — racing there is going to be the opposite of racing here. If you want excitement, drama and action, you’ll see it in Perth, I can guarantee that. It’s incredible that we’re going back to such an amazing venue.”

“Winning the event in Auckland — hearing the Aussie national anthem in front of all the Kiwi fans was pretty nice, and stealing second from them today wasn’t too bad either.”

“In the Final Race today — when you’re leading a two-million-dollar race and you have everything settled, and you get off the line well — leading and managing to overcome Spain and nail the start, that’s most of the battle. And yeah, we let it slip. That will eat away at me for a long time.”

Tash Bryant, Strategist BONDS Flying Roos
“I mean, I think it says a lot about the team — five seasons, five Grand Finals — it’s pretty impressive. Just the grit everyone showed today to get through some really tricky races and make it into the Grand Final in the first place… the team has to be really proud of that. We fought through everything, and yeah, it’s been a tough season."

"I’m really excited that the season is starting again so soon, down under, at home, to race in front of home crowds and family and take the learnings from today. I’m sure we’ll have completely different conditions and some epic racing coming up soon."

"It was so unpredictable. In that last fleet race, the wind completely died out — we didn’t know what was going to fill in next. It was quite chaotic and stressful onboard. We’ve had a couple of races like that before, similar to Dubai, where we ended up falling out of the Final. But the team pulled through today — never gave up — and in the Final, overtaking the Kiwis at the last turn mark just showed that everyone kept working hard and kept pushing right to the end.”

Mubadala Brazil driver, Martine Grael
“Everything about SailGP is hard. It’s a lot of responsibility, of course, when you’re driving any boat. It’s super hard to just do your job. It would be so much easier if you could focus 100 percent on the little things, but you always have to keep an eye on the bigger picture. And it’s really hard to have that big picture when you don’t have the experience of thinking, this has happened before, so I’m going to do that. We’re learning along the way, and it’s quite tough to learn along the way. You always want to be there.”

NorthStar Canada driver, Giles Scott
“I think we’re feeling… well, we didn’t move on the leaderboard with this regatta, ultimately, and we knew it was highly unlikely to happen. We finished middle of the pack which, on the form of the year, is exactly where we deserve to finish. And it’s a bitter pill to swallow because it’s not where we want to be. But coming into this event, the season was over and it was about building for the next one. It would’ve been nice to get a better result and move up the leaderboard — it would have been sweeter to hit the podium, which we just missed out on.”

ROCKWOOL Racing driver, Nicolai Sehested
“We’ve been in a lot of Finals and come so close so many times, so it’s good to get it off our backs — it’s been hanging there for a while. In the team base you could smell it for a long time. Hopefully this is a new beginning for us, where we can clear our minds, reset and just go racing.
We did the same thing in the first race today as we did in Cádiz — we talked about taking low risk and taking it easy, and we just got washed out. It shows that if you take it easy, you don’t have the level. So in the last race we just did what we normally do: went hard, took the lesson, and decided we’re not going easy anymore… just push it.”

Emirates Great Britain driver, Dylan Fletcher
“It’s unbelievable, to be honest — to be racing here, to take the Grand Final, to win on points, to win the Impact League. We’re all in the same equipment, it’s just sailor vs. sailor, and it means an enormous amount."

"We said we would give it everything. We put ourselves off the back of the start with an opportunity to win it. It didn’t go our way, but we discussed that before the race — we said it was marginal, light, tricky. Just keep chipping away and do the right thing, and we put ourselves nicely ahead. As soon as we went around the top gate, I was pretty excited."

"Everything was incredibly stressful — we’re up against the best sailors in the world. Even though the Final teams hadn’t performed great this weekend, we were all managing our own battles as we went. When it came down to it, I think you saw a testament to how close it is at the top. Any one of us could have won that race, and I’m very happy it was us."

"It’s unbelievable. I look back on the season and think, Oh, we gave this away here and that away there — it feels like we could have done so much more. But it’s nice that we won on all of the stats, on the events and everything, and to come away, take that pressure and win the Grand Final. We gave it everything, and win or lose, we would have enjoyed it."

"The highlight is today — not just because of what we achieved on the water. Yesterday was an incredibly tough day, and we kept smiling, kept happy and kept working as a team, and we came out firing today."

The lowlight was being stuck head-to-wind and not getting around the windward mark in San Francisco — that was up there.”

Hannah Mills, Strategist Emirates GBR
“It’s wild. I can’t actually believe it. Everyone is so good, the level is so high, the racing is so hard, and we prepared as well as we could for that Final Race. We executed what we wanted to do — we didn’t win the start, but after that we sailed the race we wanted to sail and came through with the win."

"I’ve actually been training on the grinder for the last six weeks. It’s very physical, especially when you’re trying to help with the strategy a bit — especially when you’re heavy breathing. It’s hard not to let the intensity get too high, and in the first fleet race today I had that. It was a good lesson to take a breath, give the comms in a calm, relaxed way, and that really helps the team."

"It’s phenomenal. Dyl has done a great job coming into the league — we knew he would prepare every detail, do his homework and get on top of everything. He’s such a natural driver — he’s phenomenal. It’s really impressive, and I’ve learned so much sailing with him. The team has had a great year, and it’s been an amazing team to be part of.”

Ben Ainslie, CEO Emirates GBR
“I’m so proud of the team, both on and off the water. It’s been a long season with plenty of highs and lows, but to finish in such strong fashion — to win the Impact League, win the season outright, and then win the Grand Final — it’s a huge achievement. The team has been brilliant.”

“I was pretty nervous and tense — watching from the shore is totally different from being out on the boat. It’s much more emotional, that’s for sure. But they’ve sailed brilliantly all season, so there was confidence they’d keep it tight — and they did. They made some really good decisions. It was one of the classic SailGP Finals, and I’m super proud of the team for holding it together, pulling through, and getting the win when they needed it.”

“I’m so proud of the whole team. I think with Dylan coming in this season, we’ve really seen the work he’s put in over the last couple of years. To see how he’s matured into that role — the leadership, the composure — it’s fantastic. He’s shown everyone the talent he is in this sport.”

Spain Los Gallos driver, Diego Botín
“Highlight probably the American season — San Francisco and New York. Good events and pretty close together, so that was very nice. We struggled a bit in the European leg — around Geneva — as we had some issues in the sailing team with some health problems and stuff, so we struggled there.”

“Yeah, I think we can be very proud as a team of how we dealt with the situation. Obviously, some big mistakes yesterday didn’t give us the chance of entering the Final, but at the same time we arrived at the event as the team with the least options of making the Final out of the top four teams. And I think, fair enough, the Aussies did what they had to do to maximize their chances, just making sure they were hurting us a little bit here and there to ensure we didn’t have a good event. We were expecting that — we prepared and reacted well, but obviously it was not enough.”

“Very hungry. I think we worked really well as a team for this event. Big growing season for us, and luckily we come back with the same team next year to start the 2026 Season in Perth. I think we are learning and will keep pushing, and we’re looking forward to the next season 100%.”

GER presented by Deutsche Bank driver, Erik Heil
“Lots of ups and downs for us. In hindsight, we’re happy about the development, where the team has got to, and the success we’ve had lately. There’s lots of work waiting back home — plenty of debriefing and some changes for us next season within the team. So we’re really looking forward to getting ready for Perth.”

“Your heart rate is rising already when you watch them — it’s an epic race and probably super challenging mentally. The Brits did a great job — congrats to them. It’s amazing how they’ve sailed this season, and hopefully we can be close to that soon.”

France Les Bleus driver, Quentin Delapierre
“Honestly, it’s super nice to finish the season like this. We came back third here in Abu Dhabi with race wins, we had good momentum and a good start. Throughout the race we were quite solid. It’s a good feeling.”

Red Bull Italy driver, Phil Robertson
“I think for the team it’s a great result — it’s nice. It’s tough to join the league and it’s tough to start off; you get beaten down quite a lot. But to finish the season with a second, that’s pretty cool. It didn’t feel awesome and was quite scrappy out there. We finished mid-pack a lot, which doesn’t feel great, but it’s points — good points. To put ourselves in second in the fleet racing is a great result.”

“Sailing these boats in these conditions is really difficult. It’s almost frustrating in a way because you know you’re so close to foiling, and you know how much better it is when you’re foiling. It’s a tough little venue, especially with how small it is out there with 12 boats and a lot of dirty air. It’s a lot of fun — I had a lot of fun. This team has great fans, sponsors, partners and investors. I think we’re looking forward to next season now.”

New Zealand Black Foils driver, Peter Burling
“Yeah, I think we executed the Final we wanted. We were at the top end of the line but didn’t quite get the acceleration we’d hoped for. We went wide at mark one, took the route we wanted to build a healthy lead, and then a mistake at the top mark gave the British a massive jump. It’s a bit of a ‘what could have been’. There’s some frustration on our end, but we’ve got to be proud of the race and the season we put together."

"Super proud of what we’ve done this season. We definitely had our ups and downs, so we’ll keep building into next season. We’ll take a step forward as all the transfer news unfolds now, but we’re excited for what’s next. It’s not too far away, and there’s not heaps to change between now and then — we just want to start strong. We’re all definitely hurting right now, but that’s what you want in these situations. If the team didn’t care about what we’re doing and the mission we’re on, we wouldn’t feel the hurt we’re feeling now. Super close, but the cards didn’t quite go our way this time."

"It’s hard for us — this is our third opportunity. We’ve won well over 50% of the Finals we’ve been in, but we still haven’t managed to win a Grand Final. It’s incredibly tough when the whole season comes down to one shifty 10-minute race. And we didn’t manage to win the points this season either, so that’s the goal for us: set the benchmark across the board and give ourselves a stronger position in the Final. We couldn’t manage to do that this weekend, which is frustrating.”

Switzerland driver, Seb Schneiter
“It was a good step forward for us. Of course, after the penalty points there was less margin for error. We were in the fight — even before the last race we still had a shot to make it to the top three. I think the positive thing is that we are close. We’re still missing some consistency. We have some really good races and some really good days. There are a lot of learnings from this weekend for us to try to put it all together. Overall, we’re in a good position for next season, and that is the most important thing."

"That’s the goal — to move forward. That’s what we’re aiming for: to keep working with the same group of people, gel a bit better together, and I think that will make us stronger as time goes on. I’m looking forward to starting again in Perth and seeing where we end up.”

U.S. driver, Taylor Canfield
“We don’t like being on the bottom, but we’ve laid some good roots for the season to come. I’m really pumped about how we sailed in the last four events of the season and about having some really great races. We were nearly on the podium here — three points off — and it really came down to the horrible start on my part in the first fleet race today. We’re there. We know we can battle. We’ve shown that we can have great days in the light air and now also in the breezy races. There has been a lot of great progress, and I think the team is positive.”

“There are no shortcuts. You’ve just got to keep working and trust that it will come. We’re sailing these boats that are incredibly complex and constantly changing. It’s no easy task, and if you take your foot off the throttle for one second, six or seven boats are going to come past you. We have to remember that everyone is going to have tough races — we’ve just got to keep chipping away.”

“The highlight was the first event of the season — we came out swinging, on the podium in Dubai, which was really cool — and then finishing another really strong event here in the UAE. Being over here in the UAE is probably the highlight.”

“The lowlight was the collision in Germany, hitting the British. It was a pretty full-on moment for everybody. It was a big crash, but we recovered well from that and continued to grow for the rest of the season.”

DAY ONE – SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 29, 2025

BONDS Flying Roos driver, Tom Slingsby
“It’s obviously extremely stressful. We’re in a bit of a different race than a normal one — trying to win the event — so we’re trying to keep control of Spain, and it’s hard in these conditions. Someone gets a gust, or the helicopters get too close — which happened a few times today — and boats just take off, and there’s not much you can do about it. But we’re trying to control the situation as best we can. We’re in a better position than we were at the start of the day. It doesn’t look like that when you’re in 10th overall, but as long as Spain is behind us, we’re happy.”

“I don’t know if other teams were having the same difficulties as we were, but our starts kept saying we were racing. We’d pull the trigger and go, and we received two early-start penalties today. It’s frustrating, but I saw a lot of people getting penalties, so maybe everyone is having similar issues.”

“Keep Spain at the back of the pack and race as fast as you can — they’re polar-opposite strategies, but we’re going to have to shift if we make that final. Our focus is to control Spain, and then if we make the final, we forget all that, reset, and race for $2M.”

Mubadala Brazil driver, Martine Grael
“We’ve had a lot of seat changes — not only in our team but across all of SailGP. A lot of changes give us the opportunity to step up even higher as well, and we’ve got a nice team together. The only challenge we have now is time — it’s a new learning curve, and we’ve been frying our brains to get the communication side and the manoeuvres together to go racing this weekend. It’s been intense but quite rewarding.”

NorthStar Canada driver, Giles Scott
“It’s hard to keep the hull up around the track — it’s so, so light. I think everyone’s struggling out there. The Danes managed to put together something quite special today — you’ve got to kind of doff your cap to them.”

“We felt like we ended up in a fight with penalties today. We had our bad races — two good, two bad — and one of the good ones turned bad pretty quickly. I’ll have to go back and look at some of those umpire calls, but we had some dialogue with Craig at one point, which I haven’t quite understood yet. Difficult day.”

“I think the margins are so, so fine, and there’s really not a lot between any of the boats out there — just tiny little differences here and there.”

“Every inch and millimetre matters in this stuff. Sailing’s not a lucky sport, but there’s a bit of a throw of the dice in how you line up with other boats and how they decide to affect you. There’s definitely an art to it, and you can do it — and do it well — but the jeopardy is high, put it that way.”

ROCKWOOL Racing driver, Nicolai Sehested
“I think it just came down to having a really good atmosphere between myself, TJ and Ed. It was the first time sailing with Ed in the three-up, so it was just good communication, and we found each other easy to work with — it was perfect.”

“I think it was the first time we were fast in the light stuff — H1 and H2. It was a different way of making decisions today because we were sailing away, as normally we have to get the elbows out in the light stuff. So it came a lot easier than normal. You have to sail fast to avoid dealing with the other boats today. Normally, in the heavy winds, we can do that, but it’s good to see we’re starting to do that in the light wind too.”

Emirates Great Britain driver, Dylan Fletcher
“I guess there is a bit more luck involved in light winds. We saw the top four teams not putting more risk into it because they don’t want to have any accidents or anything like that, or have it be over. And the teams that took more risk were having the best starts.”

“There’s a lot happening with a condensed racetrack and the fleet arriving at similar times, so it gets busy fast. We saw some tight mark roundings and plenty of place changes on that final leg. I think it’ll be completely different in the Grand Final with only three boats. There’s obviously a lot more wind on the racecourse, and it’ll be a very different game.”

Spain Los Gallos driver, Diego Botín
“It was a very light and tough day. The starts involve a lot of waiting in these conditions, and we pushed for it, which made us make a few mistakes. Obviously the results don’t show it, but we’re quite happy with the way we went out there — not happy with the result, but with how things are going for us. We’ll keep pushing tomorrow, even though things aren’t super hopeful for us.”

“We’re going to go through everything again, do the same thing, and maximise our chances for tomorrow — there are still some — and we’ll go for it 100%."

GER presented by Deutsche Bank driver, Erik Heil
“I don’t know — we’re still trying to find out what’s the best way to use the boards. The umpires came up with a rule that was supposed to permit the use of the boards, but now we are using them way more. I’m waiting for the first one to blow up — I don’t know. We have the coaches sitting in the booth and they are telling us when we can use it and when we can’t, but still somehow we get penalties. We have to figure out with the team tomorrow morning what’s allowed and what’s not.”

France Les Bleus driver, Quentin Delapierre
“It was difficult, as usual, when it’s light wind, because we’re 12 boats now and the shadowing and the gas come quite quickly. It’s not easy, but I think today we just missed so many opportunities.”

“In the first race and the third one, we were in the top three and we just drifted out. I don’t know how exactly — I have to analyse it — but it was close today. I think the starts were good enough, and in the second race and the last race we were in the match, so a bit tough.”

Red Bull Italy driver, Phil Robertson
“I guess for the first day coming back, it’s a nice way to ease into it. It’s pretty horrible out there — especially the starts. There are a lot of boats, everything is very close, and there are a lot of situations, but it was alright. A good day, and a lot of fun to be out there again.”

“Definitely a little bit of a disco out there — everyone is dancing around — and it’s difficult, and you’ve got plenty on. Thankfully it’s quite light, so it’s not too bad, but once you get foiling three-up, it’s exciting.”

“We have one rule: come in hot on the inside at any mark. The problem is there are a lot of boats that owe you room but they can’t give it, so they’re dishing out penalties but you still can’t get in there. It’s very chaotic around those marks — definitely topics to look into.”

New Zealand Black Foils driver, Peter Burling
“It felt like we got reasonably unlucky today. We thought we were doing well getting the boat off the start line, then we got a penalty against Great Britain and Craig gave us another two, which took us right to the back in that third race. And then, obviously, the Swiss crashed into the back of us at the start of the fourth race.”

“It makes life a little bit tougher — worrying about one more thing —but it’s good to be out there racing, and it definitely didn’t change the outcome today.”

“I think what you don’t see is that you get committed to a decision too early. You try to make the right decision early, and if you get it wrong or someone slightly gets inside you, it makes life incredibly tough. That’s what we were trying to do today: make good decisions. Obviously we didn’t get them all right today, especially on the first run, going backwards a few times, but all in all we’re looking forward to getting back out there.”

I’m not sure he’s paid the Swiss to look after us — it was an interesting one. It’s interesting that all four boats in contention have been having a rough one today.”

Switzerland driver, Seb Schneiter
“We enjoy any conditions, but we knew today would be for everyone, so we went out there with an opportunistic mindset. We did some really good things, had good starts, and sailed the course nicely. But sometimes we weren’t sure which gate to choose and we went for one — sometimes it was right and sometimes it wasn’t. It was hard to predict. But I think we did a good job as a team to stay calm and stay in the fight for tomorrow.”

“For us, it’s about watching outside of the boat because the gusts are so short and it’s really hard. If you look just at the numbers, you could get it wrong — so it’s more about linking the pressure. I’d say because we didn’t have foiling conditions, in a way it was easier, and when you add in foiling it makes it harder.”

“It would be really good to finish the season strong and prove once again that we can fight at the top. For us it’s all about next season, but we’re trying to maximise what we can learn here and be consistent next year.”

“Unfortunately in the last start we had a small contact with the Black Foils – the fault was on us, and for that we’re getting a few penalty points.”

“The main priority is that both boats can sail tomorrow, especially the Kiwis who could be fighting in the Grand Final. For us the points are a bit annoying but it’s still all to play for.”

U.S. driver, Taylor Canfield
“Overall, great day — we sailed really well and caught a lot of boats today, which was nice to see. That’s the goal in this league: to catch boats around the racetrack, and we did that all day long except in the last one. Unfortunately, in the last race we had two penalties from a new system the umpires introduced this event with the board cycling and how many cycles we can do. We had been monitoring it all day, and we don’t really know why. Our data shows we didn’t overuse the board, and for us it was really frustrating — from a decent race and a decent start to last place. It’s frustrating, and we’re going to go back and review it, but it is what it is at this point. We’ve got to go out and fight hard tomorrow.”

“Definitely tricky — it’s been happening all season, so we’re used to it by now. We have a really good grip on this: we have timers going in the booth, and we’re getting all the info we need, and we’re still kind of baffled as to why we got those penalties. We were all over it and really well prepared for it, and we did it very well in the first three races, and then something changed. But we’re going to brush that off. We feel good, and we have a good handle on the starts, which is always tricky in these conditions.”

“That is always the goal. We’ve had some great events in the UAE, and we feel good in these conditions. We’ve been going well all week in practice racing, but you’ve got to go out there and perform every day, and every race is so different with so many little things where you need to be sharp and take advantage of them.”

PRESS CONFERENCE – THURSDAY NOVEMBER 27, 2025

PANEL 1
Erik Heil, Germany SailGP Team presented by Deutsche Bank

Growth this season?
Yeah, I mean, it's amazing to see that, but we're not super over-excited. We felt all year that we were getting some momentum, but we just didn’t manage to put a full race together. And obviously the penalty points at the beginning of the season because of the crash were not the best starting point for us. But by the end of the season, we got some more momentum, some more complete races, and we’re really happy that it turned out well.

Target on back?
Not yet, no. I mean, everyone has lots of rivals around. We're racing boat to boat and as close as we can. There’s not a big difference between the teams, so you're not extra careful with one compared to another. There are moments—like with the match-racing guys, for example—where you stay a little further away, but most of the time you stay quite fleet-orientated and try to stay in the game for the best overall result.

Team changes incoming?
Yeah, I mean, the crew lottery started a couple of months ago, and as Phil said, probably more teams than you expect call you up at times. Maybe there's something happening in our team as well.

Martine Grael, Mubadala Brazil SailGP Team

What have you learned?
We're building our story together from scratch, and for the rest of the Brazilians there are also a lot of new things coming into the league. Moving into the last event of the season, we feel like we want to step up our performance, and there are a lot of changes happening in the team for next season. So it's going to be quite exciting heading into that. We're looking forward to stepping up our game a bit more. We think we can perform better than we’ve been performing.

On crew changes
Yeah, I think it’s about having our team members comfortable and getting a bit more into the racing. There’s a little more decision-making on my side, but it’s still about growing a good team atmosphere and getting the best out of the team.

Approach to this weekend?
I think we’re still trying to apply a lot of the learnings from the last events and really perform here, while also building with a new team. So there are a lot of things going on at the same time.

On the 27.5m wing
I think it's quite similar to the 29-metre wing but a little improved and a little lighter. It’s the best we can get for the wind we have here, although it's not what we expected as the best wing to go foiling with. But we're going to do what we have to do with the equipment we've been given—embracing the changes, ultimately, because that’s one thing about SailGP.

Taylor Canfield, U.S SailGP Team

On Thanksgiving and being on the water
I’m just thankful to have the opportunity to be here. I’m thankful to be racing and to be surrounded by my team and great friends. Everyone from a lot of different teams came up to me this morning and wished us a Happy Thanksgiving, which was really nice. We feel the love while being away from home right now, which is great on the water.

Positives and negatives of the season
Yeah, definitely — it’s been a bumpy season. I could say I’m ready for it to be over and for a fresh start next season, but I’m also excited for this race here in Abu Dhabi. We had a great event here last time, finishing on the podium, and we also had a great event in Dubai. We have some good skills, and we’ve had strong results over here. We’re just looking to expand and continue to grow our team, and we’re excited for what’s to come next season.

On Harry Melges
Yeah, we’re super excited to include Harry Melges on the roster. He’s an incredible sailor — also American — and we’re really proud of that. We’re developing the next generation of Americans, and he’s a top guy. We’re looking to keep growing not only our team now but also develop future prospects to be on the roster. I’m no spring chicken, so someone’s going to be stepping into my role at some point, and it might be him. Overall, we’re proud to represent our country as an all-American team — one of the only ones in the league. Looking at New Zealand and what they’ve done in getting an entire country behind them, that’s our goal in the U.S.

What do you want from the weekend?
Yeah, I mean, the truth is all the teams are out here to win every weekend. We’re going to push hard, but we acknowledge that we have another season starting just two months from now. So the goal is definitely to keep developing our talent and our group. Luckily, it sounds like we’ll have most of the same team next season, and there’s a lot of shuffling going on elsewhere in the league. I think that’ll be a good advantage for us heading into the next season.

Stir the pot this weekend?
No, we’re not going to be about that this week. We’ll save that for next season. We’re excited to go out and have a good event. It’s been a tough season for us, but we feel like we’ve made some great steps and had some really good races recently. We’ve got to go out there and put a full event together, and if we can come away from this weekend feeling that way, then we’ll be strong heading into next season.

Phil Robertson, Red Bull Italy SailGP Team

Good to be back?
Yeah, obviously it’s very, very cool to be back. It’s been a season away, which has been a blessing in disguise, to be honest. It’s nice to have a break and take another perspective on what goes on here and what it looks like. I’ve enjoyed watching it and learning, and it’s been nice to develop myself over that time as well, away from being part of the circus. So yeah, it’s good to be back.

How did it come about?
Well, I think if anyone here got a call from Jimmy Spithill, you'd be stupid not to answer it. Jimmy called, and this team — Red Bull Italy — is an amazing team. They’ve got incredible backing and incredible athletes, as well as the wider team. It’s tough coming into the series, so they’ve had a bit of a rough start, and they realised they needed a little more experience. And yeah, I got the call. It’s nice to join the team. I’m excited — we’ve got a really strong squad.

Were there other offers on the table?
I’m not going to lie, I was talking to a lot of teams, and I think some of the drivers will be quite shocked to hear that. But when you look at the offers, you've got to look at the wider squad, and Red Bull Italy has an amazing backing partner in Red Bull. You’d be stupid not to join the team with that title sponsor. And then there’s Jimmy Spithill, and all the other incredible athletes and the management team and structure around it. It’s an incredibly strong team, so I’m excited to be a part of it.

Ruggero also still on the roster?
And that is a strength. For me, personally, Ruggero is ready to go at any moment. I’ve got a rocket somewhere I can’t say, so I need to go out and perform. And it’s nice — there’s pressure. Having someone like one of the world’s best sailors in the background ready to go is a strength for this team.

Here to stay?
I think they’re calling it Phil 5.0 — five teams. That’s a lot of experience and a lot of different cultures as well, and I only see that as a strength going forward. To be honest, I don’t think anyone’s locked in in this league. You’ve got to perform, otherwise you’re going to be out.

PANEL 2
Peter Burling, New Zealand SailGP Team (Black Foils)

On finger injury
We had an incident in training yesterday where I ended up with a reasonably decent cut on my finger. So yeah, no sailing for me today, and we’ll just monitor the situation as it goes. Not the ideal way to build up to the Grand Final, but we’ve come here feeling like the team is in great shape. I’m doing everything I can to recover and make sure I’m ready to go.

Extent of injury
Well, obviously it’s at the end, but yeah, it’s in the middle ground between a little bit and a tiny bit going off the end. It’s obviously not ideal, but the medical teams have been absolutely amazing here. I’m looking forward to recovering and getting back into it.

Any chance you’ll miss racing?
It depends who you talk to, but I’m sure I’ll figure out how to be there.

Liv driving?
Yeah, she’ll be driving for us today. The forecast is looking relatively light for the weekend, so it’s probably a nice thing to be a little less physical than some of the other venues you have to deal with. For us, it’s a great opportunity for her to get a bit more driving time. It’s also a great opportunity for the team to continue improving our depth in those backups for different roles. These kinds of things can happen to anyone throughout the season, and you’ve got to be able to deal with them. So that’s what we’re working through.

Who would you like to face?
Honestly, we’re in a similar situation to what Tom described. You don’t really get to choose who you race; you’ve just got to go out there, do the best you can, and put together the best race possible. For us, the focus is making sure we’re getting comfortable with the new bits of equipment. It’s been a year of a lot of change in that regard. We’ve had a lot of practice throughout the season, but now it’s about making sure we’re ready to go and ready to execute both Saturday and Sunday. There are three things up for grabs this weekend: the Abu Dhabi Championship, the points leader, and the season championship as well.

On pressure
To be honest, I really enjoy the pressure. Most people in our situation have been through so much now and are very comfortable with it. As a group, we’ve put a lot of work into how we deal with pressure and make sure we get the most out of everyone in the team, and that’s been a big focus for us this season. We’ve seen some massive benefits from that. I’m looking forward to the load coming on this weekend and seeing what we can do.

Is money a motivator?
Oh, I mean, it’s always nice, isn’t it? But it’s not the focus of the weekend for us. We’re very much focused on going out there and executing the best race we can. Season championships, prize money — they’re all kind of noise around the fringe of doing what you need to do to make that a reality. So yeah, looking forward to getting into it.

On NZL talent
There’s an awesome depth of talent in New Zealand. We’re still working through plans to create a genuine pipeline into the Black Foils, and that’s something we want to continue building. But right now, our focus has really been on building the depth and skill sets within our own squad and making sure we retain that talent. As the league grows, teams can take on more — like building those pipelines, trying out new talent, and building more depth in the squad. That’s what we’re excited to do.

Diego Botin, Spain SailGP Team (Losa Gallos)

Underdogs?
Of course we’d like to be higher on the leaderboard with more chances of reaching the Grand Final. But we’re still in a good position because all we can do now is look forward. We’ll be all in this weekend. The venue and conditions should also play to our advantage. On a small course in light winds, it becomes more of a game than at any other venue, so anything can happen.

Force mistakes?
Well, obviously we need to do well this weekend to have a chance. There are many scenarios depending on how things go — the wind conditions and everything. These teams are super good, and it’s rare that they make mistakes or end up at the back of the leaderboard. But we’re going to take our chances, and depending on the conditions and how it goes, our strategy may change.

27.5m wing advantage?
It would have been an advantage if we were going straight into racing with the 27.5m wing, but the teams are getting the chance to test it these two days, and even three days before the weekend. So our advantage reduces there. I don’t think it’s a big one for us.

Mind games from Slingsby?
Yeah, maybe — I don’t know. But for us, as I said, we’re just going to go full on this weekend. Normally in SailGP we’re used to being on the edge every week, having to perform while trying not to make a big mistake. This weekend we can just sail freely, which I think is the strength of our position. Let’s see where it takes us.

Dylan Fletcher, Emirates Great Britain SailGP Team

Looking ahead to racing
I think we’re all looking forward to getting into the racing. We’ve got some new equipment here, and as has been mentioned, it’s a light-wind venue, so there’s lots to look at and work on. But yeah, we’re just keen to get racing.

Any changes?
All of us are trying to improve at every single event — it’s the name of the game in SailGP. The level is always going higher and higher, and we’re only trying to do the same.

Did you envisage being here?
I guess there’s always a plan to be in this position going into the Grand Final. It’s been an unbelievable season with the team. I’m truly thankful for the opportunity and the whole experience we’ve had, and for being given the space to make mistakes and improve over the year.

On relationship with Hannah
Hannah and I had never sailed together before, but we’ve always been in the team for a long time in different teams. Our communication styles are quite similar, and it’s been really lucky to work with her — we’ve got a really good thing going on.

Is Ben Ainslie a hands-on CEO?
Ben’s been great. He was actually out on the water yesterday morning doing a photo shoot for Emirates, so he had plenty of tips for me when we got back in.

On Phil’s return
It’s great to have Phil back. He’s a fantastic character, and maybe we’ll give the Italian boat a bit of extra space.

On other teams’ strengths and weaknesses
Everyone on this stage is incredibly strong as a team, and we’ve all got our strengths and weaknesses, but ultimately we’re just trying to focus on ourselves. It’s all going to come down to qualifying for the Grand Final, and then ultimately one race and giving it everything. We’ve done our analysis, we’ve done our work, and now it’s just time to deliver.

No crew changes?
Yeah, we’ve got a great team — not just the super six, but also the wider group we’ve been training. Hannah’s been doing lots of helming, Ellie Aldridge has been getting some time, and Ben Cornish as well. We’re really strong as a team.

Tom Slingsby, BONDS Flying Roos

What can we expect this weekend?
It's a beautiful racecourse. It’s a natural stadium where we race, with spectators right on the start line. It's very cool. Hopefully we get enough wind so we can foil and have some exciting racing. But it's beautiful being back here — the weather’s great — and, as always when we're in this part of the world, when you get the breeze it's some of the best sailing you'll ever do. We're just hoping for that wind so we can be out there foiling.

On celebrity investors
They're extremely supportive. To have the support of Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman as co-owners of the team… we went in and spent a bit of time with them, and they’ve been following and loving the racing. Hugh surprisingly knows a lot more than I was expecting. He probably could’ve given me a few tips after my last event in the starting. It’s exciting to have them on board — they're so supportive and they’re going to start getting more involved.

On mainstream attention
I think that’s the thing — it's changing our sport. The following these people have and the audience you can reach with a single post on social media… we did a post two days ago and it went out to 150 million people. That's the power of social media and how many people follow these actors and businessmen. It’s unbelievable. We're getting so much more support around the world; so many people are starting to follow our sport and realize how amazing SailGP is. A lot of that is coming from them, and they’re only just getting started.

On light-wind conditions
Everyone knows historically we've been a strong-wind team that prefers windy conditions. This year we’ve really tried to change our focus. Knowing the Grand Final was coming here to Abu Dhabi, we wanted to become a light-air team. I feel like we’ve made some big improvements. Chris Draper joining the team has really helped us — he adds a different perspective and is a very good leader and sailor. We’ve definitely improved. But it’s going to come down to execution. I was asked the other day if there were any mind games going on with the top four teams, and I just said it’s a waste of time. All these guys up here have won gold medals and had so much pressure on them at the Olympics and America’s Cup. You just can’t focus on the other teams — you’ve got to focus on yourself and perform the best you can this weekend. If we do, we’ve got a really good shot; if we don’t, there’s no chance we’re going to win it.

On pressure
I was told when I was young that the nervous feeling — the butterflies in your stomach — is a reward. The reason you feel it is because you're at the top level of competition. If you were at a lower level, you wouldn't feel those things. It’s a reward for all the hard work you’ve done. You’ve got to enjoy that moment, because when I'm retired and look back on my career… I’ve spoken to sportsmen who say, “What I would do to get that feeling back again.” It’s something you’ve got to remember for the rest of your life. You’ve got to embrace the moment because it only happens at the top level of sport. Our team is on board with that. We just need to see if we can make that Final — we’re going to enjoy it, do our best, and see how the cards fall.

On Diego
Diego’s an unbelievable competitor. I was asked the other day who I’d least like on my hammer, and it’s definitely Diego and Spain. He’s built for these moments. He upset Pete and me in Australia and New Zealand in last year’s Grand Final. He loves being the underdog — it’s a situation he’s really comfortable in — and we know he performs. He won a gold medal last year, he won a world title a couple of weeks ago… he’s the man to beat.
For us, that just means we need to be at the top of our game. We’ve got to focus on ourselves because we know they’ll perform, and we need to match them. That’s the goal.