Off season SailGP roster shuffle

It’s the off season for SailGP, but only for the racing. Behind the scenes, a flurry of high profile moves could reshape the championship before a single F50 hits the start line.

From bold rebuilds to headline stealing sign-ons, this is the most dramatic athlete reshuffle SailGP has seen – and it sets the stage for a fierce new season of rivalries, ambition, and pure competitive fire.

Draper joins Artemis SailGP Team
Chris Draper is, without doubt, one of the most respected and revered names in SailGP. A veteran of all five seasons, the Olympic bronze medallist is hot property. After joining the BONDS Flying Roos as wing trimmer for the 2025 Season, Draper is among the big names poached by SailGP’s newest team: Artemis SailGP. The move will see Draper pair up with Nathan Outteridge once more, having raced with Outteridge’s Japanese team in Season 2.

Goobs goes home
With Chris Draper vacating the wing trimmer seat with the BONDS Flying Roos, Tom Slingsby knew that only the very best could replace him. And who better to pick up the mantle than Aussie SailGP ace Iain ‘Goobs’ Jensen, fresh from winning the 2025 Rolex SailGP Championship with Emirates GBR? Expect fireworks from Slingsby’s True Blue team when racing begins on home waters of Perth in a little over a month.

Bithell reunites
Stu Bithell firmly made his mark on the 2025 SailGP Season as the dependable wing trimmer for Germany SailGP Team presented by Deutsche Bank. A mainstay of the team for two seasons, Bithell was critical in helping Germany – SailGP’s most improved team of 2025 – to their first ever event win. But now, like Jensen, it’s time for Bithell to head home – and he joins Emirates GBR for the 2026 Season, reunited with his Olympic gold medal-winning teammate Dylan Fletcher.

Hallström, Farrand, Gross bolster Artemis roster
Since announcing their participation in the 2026 Season of SailGP, Artemis SailGP have been steadily building a team under the expert guidance of driver Nathan Outteridge and CEO Iain Percy. Grinder Julius Hallström has joined from ROCKWOOL Racing, Brad Farrand leaves Red Bull Italy to join as jib trimmer, while Julia Gross also moves from Red Bull Italy to take on the strategist role at Artemis.

Robertson returns
Fans have already seen him in action – and what a return it was for Phil Robertson, one of SailGP’s biggest characters and most respected drivers. Robertson joins Red Bull Italy for the 2026 Season, but took over driving duties from Ruggero Tita for the Mubadala Abu Dhabi Sail Grand Prix 2025 Season Grand Final. The impact was instant, with the team finishing second – their first ever SailGP podium. A sign of things to come? Watch this space.

Kostner to Brazil, Powys promoted
Rasmus Kostner is a name entrenched in the Danish outfit ROCKWOOL Racing, having competed for them in every single SailGP event. That was until the 2025 Season Grand Final, where Kostner was announced as the new flight controller for Mubadala Brazil, ending a five-year stint with the Danes. Kostner is replaced by Ed Powys, who earns a promotion from grinder to flight controller. Hans-Christian Rosendahl steps back onto the ROCKWOOL Racing F50 after missing the 2025 Season through injury.

Season 6 – 2026 Schedule:
• Jan 17-18 – Perth, Australia
• Feb 14-15 – Auckland, New Zealand
• Feb 28-March 1 – Sydney, Australia
• Apr 11-12  – Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
• May 9-10 – Hamilton, Bermuda
• May 30-31 – New York, USA
• June 20-21 – Halifax, Canada
• July 25-26- Portsmouth, GBR
• August 22-23 – Sassnitz, Germany
• Sep / Oct – Spain (TBC)
• Sept 12-13 – Saint-Tropez, France
• Nov 21-22 – Dubai, UAE
• Nov 28-29 – Abu Dhabi, UAE

Season 6 format:
• Thirteen teams compete in identical F50 catamarans.
• Each event is two days.
• All teams compete in up to seven qualifying fleet races of approximately 15 minutes.
• The top three teams from qualifying advance to a final race for the event title.
• The season ends with the Grand Final event which includes the Championship Final Race for the top three teams in the season standing.
• All teams are privately owned except for New Zealand and Spain which are owned by the league.

Season 6 prize money:
A total of USD $12.8 million is up for grabs in 2026. The winner of each of the 13 events takes home $400,000, with $260,000 for second and $140,000 for third. The team with the most points at the end of the season wins $400,000, while the team that wins the Championship Final Race wins USD $2 million.

Established in 2018, SailGP seeks to be an annual, global sports league featuring fan-centric inshore racing among national teams in some of the iconic harbors around the globe.

Source: SailGP