by Miranda Blazeby @ SailGP
Emirates GBR strategist Hannah Mills has revealed her ambition to launch her own SailGP team ahead of the league’s return to British waters for the Emirates Great Britain Sail Grand Prix | Portsmouth this weekend.
Speaking at a pre-event press conference, double Olympic champion Mills was asked about her own plans beyond the British team and revealed she was ‘working’ with former British driver and now CEO Ben Ainslie on the aspiration to launch a new team franchise.
“Who wouldn’t want to own a SailGP team or be part of setting one up?” she asked, adding that she and Ainslie were ‘working together on what opportunities could look like next’.
She pointed to the league’s first female driver – Martine Grael who, she said, ‘has been doing an incredible job with the Brazilian team’. Grael and the Brazilian team joined the league at the beginning of the 2025 Season and has impressed the fleet – and league CEO Russell Coutts – with its on water performance.
In New York, the team chalked up its first race win and came within touching distance of making its first event Final. Mubadala Brazil’s impressive New York run features in the latest episode of Racing on the Edge.
“Ultimately that is my ambition as a female sailor,” Mills said “I really feel a responsibility for the next generation to try and push the boundaries. For me, it’s only a good thing if we have more women doing different roles and franchises.”
It comes after former U.S. driver Jimmy Spithill split with the team last season and went on to mastermind the foundation of the Red Bull Italy team, which joined the league alongside Mubadala Brazil at the beginning of this season.
The Emirates Great Britain Sail Grand Prix | Portsmouth takes place on July 19/20, with racing from 4pm-5.30pm BST.
Interested in seeing more SailGP News ?
