Data Dive: Abu Dhabi
What did we learn from the numbers at the final event of the 2025 SailGP Season?
Published 12/4/2025
After 12 events across 14 months, the only number that truly matters is who came 1st in the Rolex SailGP Championship.
The Mubadala Abu Dhabi Sail Grand Prix delivered plenty of twists, turns and drama as the 2025 SailGP Season finished in style. Here are some of the key insights that finishing positions alone might not tell you…
1. Championship Contenders Contest Different Race
ROCKWOOL Denmark claimed its first event win, while Red Bull Italy got on the podium for the first time, too.
However, the four teams battling to reach the Grand Final - Emirates GBR, New Zealand Black Foils, the BONDS Flying Roos and Los Gallos - managed just two top-three finishes in six fleet races.
For Australia, limiting Spain’s success was the name of the game. Los Gallos had to close a four-point gap if they were to reach the Grand Final but Tom Slingsby did an excellent job of denying Diego Botin as Los Gallos went 12-9-5-11-7-3.
It meant an uncharacteristically low finish in the event standing for the Aussies (10-10-8-5-6-10) but the real prize was still on offer once fleet racing concluded.
2. U.S. Comfortable In Light Air Conditions
Light air on Day 1 made for difficult racing conditions – even with the brand-new 27.5m wing being introduced for the first time.
The day’s top speed was just 31.1 km/hr, recorded by the Germany SailGP Team, presented by Deutsche Bank. But that did not concern Taylor Canfield and the U.S. SailGP Team.
With teams mostly going H1 (one hull in the water and the other raised), the U.S. SailGP Team’s average ride height of 10mm played to the team’s strengths in the conditions, going 6-3-4-12 to finish the day in podium contention.
For context, Mubadala Brazil recorded the highest ride height at just 82mm and the highest fly time at a meager 13%.
Not only that, on Day 1 the Crew performed more overtakes than any other team in the fleet with 12.
3. France Impresses At Start Line
With so little wind, starting strategy was difficult for the 12 teams and a number of on-course side (OCS) penalties were dished out by Chief Umpire Craig Mitchell.
But one team that didn’t have any major difficulties was France, as driver Quentin Delapierre nailed his starts across the weekend.
On Day 1, the French took 0.5 seconds to cross the start line after the start time - less than any other nation. They were tied with Australia for the mean distance to the line at the start – just 1m.
It was a similar story on Day 2. At 2 seconds, France had the third-quickest time to cross the start line and the 11m mean distance from the start line also put them in third. Nobody on Sunday had a better mean position at Mark 1, though, at 3.5.
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