Sebastian Vettel, the former Formula 1 driver, is transforming and completely changing the sport
Former Formula 1 driver Sebastian Vettel will create his own sailing team in the SailGP Championship, an international circuit for regattas on ultra-modern boats. The German collaborated with German businessman Thomas Riedel. However, the invested amount was not disclosed.
Four-time Formula 1 world champion Sebastian Vettel, who has retired from action since last year, announced on Wednesday the creation of a German team in the SailGP Championship, an international circuit for regattas on ultra-modern boats. “I see a lot of potential as SailGP enters its fourth season (…) The similarities between sailors and Formula 1 have been around for a long time. The boats are great and the speeds on the water are incredibly high,” said the former racing driver.
The amount was not disclosed
Sebastian Vettel has invested an undisclosed amount in launching this team, along with German businessman Thomas Riedel. Both “will play an active role in the management and performance of the team,” specifies the press release sent out by SailGP. Helmed by 33-year-old navigator Eric Hill and a double bronze medalist in Olympic sailing, the two men are at the helm of the F50, one of the fastest boats on the water, reaching speeds of nearly 100 kilometers per hour. The German national team will participate in the first event of the fourth season of the circuit, which will start in Chicago next month on June 16 and 17.
Against them, the nine participating teams included some of the world’s best sailors, such as Britain’s Ben Ainslie, quadruple gold medalist at the Olympic Games, New Zealand’s Peter Burling, the youngest coxswain to win the America’s Cup, or even Tom. Slingsby, at the helm of the Australian team, that won the first 3 editions of the SailGP. France, led by Quentin Delapiere, was ranked fourth in the third season. The youngest world champion in Formula 1 history, four times (from 2010 to 2013), German Sebastian Vettel, 35, retired from the sport in 2022.
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