Race to Abu Dhabi: New Racing on the Edge episode explores highs and lows leading up to the showdown

Racing on the Edge - Season 5, Episode 11 © SailGP

The latest episode of Racing on the Edge - SailGP's acclaimed behind-the-scenes docuseries - launches today, offering an exclusive look at the emotional ups and downs of the global racing championship's European leg - the final sprint in the Race to Abu Dhabi.

Produced in partnership with Rolex, Waiting for Wind captures the mounting pressure leading into the 2025 Season showpiece - with national pride, personal glory and the largest prize in the sport (US $12M) all on the line. Two epic weekends in two iconic venues and very different weather conditions, SailGP's double-header in Saint-Tropez and Geneva brought speed, strategy and no shortage of drama - on and off the water. With the points tallied, the episode solidifies the Grand Final hopes of the fleet's top teams - Emirates GBR, New Zealand and Australia - while the chances all but disappear for others.

A shortened weekend of racing in Saint-Tropez due to the cancellation of day two, Dylan Fletcher's Emirates GBR team picked up their second victory of the season - leaving other teams to reflect on what could have been.

Fletcher said: "We'd prefer to win the old fashion way, but at the same time, we are the top team after day one and we deserve to be here more than anyone else."

Fast forward to just days later, all 12 national teams traded the Mistral breeze of the French Riviera for a game of high-stakes strategy on Lake Geneva. Two days of tactical, light-air racing put the entire fleet to the test. While some, including BONDS Flying Roos - historically weak in soft breeze - rise to the occasion, others struggle, including Diego Botin's Spain and Peter Burling's New Zealand, who finish fifth and seventh, respectively, in a leaderboard with little margin for error.

Geneva's final saw three-time champions BONDS Flying Roos, home favorites Switzerland, and first-time finalists Germany Deutsche Bank go head-to-head for the win. In the end, the weekend proved a cause for celebration for Germany Deutsche Bank who claimed their first-ever victory, becoming the seventh team to win an event this season.

Reflecting on the win, Erik Heil, driver, said: "It feels amazing, a little shocking as well but really cool. Everyone is buzzing."

Off the water, mixed emotions arrive alongside the announcement of a new team joining the fleet in 2026. The Artemis SailGP Team, driven by SailGP veteran Nathan Outteridge, will join the startline representing Sweden. With this comes a swirl of rumors of athletes being poached to join the historical sailing powerhouse that is Artemis Racing and the team makes its intentions abundantly clear.

Outteridge said, "Everything that's happened over the last five years of trying to build things up and having people basically poached from everything that I've been doing... now it's our turn to do the poaching."

SailGP returns later this month for the high-stakes, ultimate showdown at the Mubadala Abu Dhabi Sail Grand Prix 2025 Season Grand Final, presented by Abu Dhabi Sports Council where only one team will walk away crowned as the 2025 Season champions and a $2M prize pot - the highest in the sport. Find out more information at SailGP.com/abudhabi.