Australia leads the fleet after a dominant day on Sydney Harbor. Eleven international teams battled it out in gusty, shifty conditions, with the France SailGP Team wasting no time making an impression in their 2025 Season debut. The U.S. SailGP Team will not compete this weekend following a disastrous capsize in training.
Brimming with confidence after another day on form, Australia SailGP Team driver Tom Slingsby said, “It doesn’t get much better really. Four races in tough conditions and to come away with four good results, we’re extremely happy.”
The Flying Roo finished on the podium four times in as many races, including back-to-back victories in Fleet Races 3 and 4. The Swiss SailGP Team finished on the podium twice, winning Fleet Race 1 ahead of Rolex SailGP heavyweights Spain and Australia, who placed second and third, respectively.
Swiss driver Sébastien Schneiter celebrated, “A pretty good day at the office.” continuing “Obviously winning the first race really set the tone nicely for the day. But to be honest, we’re almost more happy with the races where we were able to climb through, which is a first for us.”
Fleet Race 2 went the way of Emirates GBR, who finished third in Fleet Races 3 and 4, while Les Bleus quickly proved no dust had settled since they last competed in July 2024. France finished fourth, third, eighth and second to head into Championship Sunday third on the event leaderboard.
France SailGP Team driver Quentin Delapierre said, “It was great to be back here in Sydney. Obviously we wanted to start earlier this season, but to have our first Grand Prix in Sydney in such conditions, it’s just extraordinary. It’s unbelievable to sail again and with the new T-Foils. It was the first time for us and with completely different boat handling – we have to adapt a lot.”
Sidelined after yesterday’s capsize, the U.S. SailGP Team will earn zero points for each race this weekend. A hearing earlier today confirmed an eight season-point penalty, in line with Rule 57, which penalizes teams for damages caused to their own F50 that were reasonable to avoid.
SailGP data analyst David Rey confirmed the incident – which took place while the boat was being towed to the start of the practice race – was caused by activating a control that inverted the wingsail, similar to the team’s capsize last season in Bermuda.
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Erik Heil’s Germany was also penalized 12 season points due to separate incidents in practice. The team now holds the record for the most penalty points ever awarded to a team in one day, as well as the largest penalty incurred in practice.
Thousands of fans cheered on the hometown team from Shark Island – a unique spectator area in the center of the racecourse – and a sold-out spectator fleet. Many of those same fans also rejoiced at New Zealand’s series of disappointing finishes, including consecutive eleventh-place results after a dramatic nosedive in Fleet Race 3.
