Is SailGP the next F1?
Now it all makes sense!
Following the announcement of its F1 departure, Rolex has upgraded its SailGP sponsorship – it will now be Title Partner for a whopping ten seasons.
Frequently dubbed ‘F1 on the water’, SailGP has been making waves since its 2019 launch. Strictly speaking, it’s still in its infancy, but you’d never think it. Growing at an exponential rate, it already has host venues begging to be involved, with city officials paying hand over fist for a chance to bring the premier sailing grand prix to their shores.
It didn’t take Rolex long to clock on to the value of the championship. The Swiss watchmaker has been a partner of the series since the beginning, in one capacity or another, adding to its already well-established sailing sponsorship portfolio.
It’s not just Rolex that’s splashing the cash though. The announcement follows two other major commercial coups – Emirates as Official Airline Partner, and DP World as Global Logistics Partner. With the series co-founded by Larry Ellison, who is also the Co-Founder of Oracle (Red Bull Racing’s biggest sponsor), it’s hardly surprising that it’s a renowned commercial success.
So, why is SailGP the sponsorship property for brands to jump on board?
Audience growth is the first thing. Most of their audience are also F1 fans, but interestingly, only around 30-40% of SailGP’s fanbase has an existing link to sailing. That’s something new and exciting for a sport that has long been synonymous with lofty prestige – inaccessible and made for wealthy Westerners. SailGP has shaken things up enough to capture new eyes.
What are they doing differently? The championship is centrally managed, and teams lease the assets from SailGP itself. This ensures that every boat is identical. It’s not about which team has the most money, as the organisation ensures they all have access to the same tech. Instead, it’s serious sport based on skill, with real titans of the sea.
The series also has some plucky personalities. Take Phil Robertson of Canada SailGP Team. Referred to as the ‘Mad Max of sailing’, he’s a juggernaut, frequently arguing with umpires and other competitors. SailGP CEO Russell Coutts (Olympic gold medallist and five-time America’s Cup champ) has referred to this as ‘gold dust’, and he’s right.
We all love a bit of grit in sport – who hasn’t loved ‘F1’s newest bad boy’ Liam Lawson taking on the old guard? Here to win, not here to make friends, as they say…
Let’s not forget the sport’s strong sustainability successes. SailGP is racing for a better future, and its vision is to be the world’s most sustainable and purpose-driven global sport and entertainment platform. This is appealing to brands looking to associate with new properties that challenge the existing susty-status quo. It’s something that is taking F1 a while to work out. On the other hand, Formula E has sustainability down but not quite the rest.
SailGP, it seems, has it all.