Lake Léman offered a challenging stage with fading breezes and fresh-water variables. Red Bull Italy SailGP Team turned adversity into progress, leaving Geneva stronger than they arrived.
Geneva, 21 September 2025 – The tenth event of SailGP Season 5 made its debut in Geneva, set against the spectacular backdrop of Lake Léman. It was marked by delicate conditions: a southwesterly breeze of 6–7 knots on Saturday that gradually faded over the course of the three races, making F50 handling particularly complex. On Sunday, two further races were added, sailed in equally challenging conditions with unstable winds and major shifts in both direction and intensity.
SailGP’s rapid audience shows no signs of slowing down, highlighted in Geneva by sold-out grandstands and a major announcement at Friday’s press conference: from Season 6, kicking off in Perth, the league will welcome a thirteenth team. The newcomer will be the Swedish team, backed by powerhouse Artemis, bringing the SailGP fleet to thirteen.
On Friday 19, the Official practice day, the fleet completed two heats per group in light winds. It was an opportunity for teams to test the new foil and rudder package, designed to make low-speed flying steadier and more comfortable, enabling maneuvers that would not have been possible with the previous setup.
On Saturday morning, the F50s were moored beneath the iconic Jet d’Eau, a defining landmark of the Swiss city, before heading out for three official races. Racing was delayed after a hydraulic fault aboard the Swiss F50, with the first start at around 15:45 local time.
The Italian team finished Race 1 in tenth place, hampered by a poor start. In marginal conditions, keeping the boat flying consistently proved difficult for all, despite the new package. Sailing in fresh water further affected handling, requiring an additional layer of adaptation.
To ease handling in such marginal conditions, race management required all teams to race with three athletes onboard: helm, wing trimmer, and flight controller doubling as grinder. On a boat designed for six sailors, splitting the workload this way made every maneuver especially demanding.
The second race brought an even weaker and more patchy breeze: while the first heat had delivered more foiling, the second was dominated by skimming and long stretches with just one hull lifted. The same trend continued in Race 3, also ending in tenth position.
On Sunday 21 September, due to forecast thunderstorms in the Geneva area, with possible intensification later in the afternoon, race management moved the start time forward from 15:30 to 14:00 local time. This allowed for two fleet races before the three-boat Grand Final. The breeze, initially building, quickly dropped to 4–5 knots, once again limiting crews to just three athletes. Conditions proved tricky from the outset, with big shifts in both direction and intensity.
The highlight for the Red Bull Italy SailGP Team came in the fourth race, where they finished second: after a strong foiling start, the Italians climbed from third to second and managed to hold off the rest of the fleet with a solid gap despite the very testing conditions. Ahead of the fifth race, racing was delayed as the wind dropped out completely, but at around 15:05 the race finally got underway. After a very difficult start in unstable conditions, the Italians crossed the line in eighth place, underlining the importance of finding clean wind lanes.
Jimmy Spithill, CEO of Red Bull Italy SailGP Team, said: “This weekend in Geneva was a big learning opportunity, racing the F-50 with just 3 people is an overwhelming experience for a new team. While Saturday was a challenging, it was pleasing to see the team work hard overnight and come out on day 2 and apply the lessons learnt to finish with a 2nd place finish. We look forward to heading back to foiling in Cadiz!”
Ruggero Tita, Driver of the team, commented: “This Sunday we definitely raced better. In the first race we had a great start: we wanted the lower end of the line and managed to take it. We lifted off before the others and finished second. We’re really pleased, not only with the result but also with the process we’re following. After Saturday, there were many technical things we needed to understand and improve. Last night we reviewed the footage, analyzed the data, and did the same again this morning. That work paid off, and we came away with plenty of new insights, so we’re very satisfied.”
“Now our focus shifts to Cádiz. There’s already a lot of talk about this venue, with the prospect of bigger waves and stronger winds. It’s going to be a big challenge, but we’ll embrace it and try to learn as much as possible from the conditions we encounter” concluded Tita.
With Geneva, SailGP expands its international reach and looks ahead to the next stop in Cádiz (4-5 October), as the season builds toward the Abu Dhabi Grand Final.
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