America's Cup: At Home with the Ainslies - is Ben off the boat?

Georgie and Ben Ainslie discuss SailGP and the America's Cup - December 11, 2025 © Performance People

Ben Ainslie, shares some background on the establishment of the America's Cup Partnership and his future direction on the 'Performance People' podcast.

Athena Racing's team Founder and Director, is interviewed by his wife, former Sky Sports presenter, Georgie, as part of her podcast series 'Performance People'.

The first part of their chat covers the recent SailGP Grand Final series win, which hopefully will build momentum for both the SailGP and America's Cup teams.

After being replaced as CEO of Athena Racing three weeks ago, Ainslie looks set to continue reducing the word count of his job titles. His stock answer is that he will do "whatever is right for the team". That covers both the SailGP and America's Cup teams for which he is likely to remain as frontman.

"I've got a hell of a lot going on in terms of the business side of the sport. So, can I offer anything to the team?

"Actually, it's not really my decision - it's other people's decision. If I can contribute, if I can help in any way, then I will. But at the same time, as I said, I've got more than enough on otherwise."

"I think the reality is I probably won't sail in Naples," he says later in the discussion.

From domestic chat, it is fairly clear that he sees his future role embracing both SailGP, for which one of his involved companies holds the UK franchise, and the America's Cup team Athena Racing, and the America's Cup event, where his involvement will likely be as a Founding Board member of the still murky America's Cup Partnership.

The Founding Partners are set up in the Protocol, which are the teams that enter within the America's Cup during the Entry period. Late entries are only admitted to the ACP with the approval of all Board members. "Ultimately, the teams, the Founding teams, will all own an equal share in that Partnership," Ainslie tells his wife.

In the across-the-table discussion, Ben Ainslie frequently refers to the 2024 America's Cup teams' desire for a change in how the Cup is organised in the future.

"Actually, when you delve back into Barcelona, or even before Barcelona. I remember having a conversation with Grant, and a good friend out of Formula One, about: "Come on, we need to have a look at this. We've got to try and get on top properly - get to grips with the commerciality of this thing. And I know a lot of the other teams... actually, all of the other teams in Barcelona were having similar conversations. And then, during the event, Doug DeVos hosted some meetings. There were other meetings that were hosted by different individuals.

"But again, all of the teams were of the same mind that we need to do something here. We've got an incredible event. It's got so much history, so much prestige. But you know, where do we go from here? Because this isn't really sustainable."

But while that claim may have been correct in Barcelona, subsequent events indicate a level of disharmony with the Partnership.

Doug DeVos and his American Magic team came out on October 29, over a year after Barcelona and the ongoing ACP negotiations, saying that: "After extensive engagement with the Defender, Challenger of Record, and fellow teams, we've concluded that the present structure does not provide the framework for American Magic to operate a highly competitive and financially sustainable campaign for the 38th America's Cup", said Doug DeVos, Team Principal of American Magic.

The Swiss team, Alinghi, after buying back its shareholding from Red Bull Racing, was the first team to announce its wind-down, six months earlier: "It is with great disappointment that we have begun an orderly wind-down of the Alinghi Red Bull Racing team." However, others claim they are still involved in the ACP negotiations, and indeed, if the latest America's Cup scuttlebutt is to be believed, they will make an entry, for whatever reason, for the 2027 Cup.

In this chat with Lady Ainslie, Sir Ben asks how to make the Cup more commercial and create "a sustainable sports product".

"The Kiwis have won for the third time in a row- an amazing achievement," he says. "But, we're really struggling to see where it goes next, and how the Cup becomes more commercial?

"Would it have survived another cycle? Probably yes. Would it have survived another three or four cycles? Who knows?

"Anyway, the reality is that we've created this partnership, I think, much for the betterment of the America's Cup. And this is now about how we create a sustainable sports product that gives the Cup the opportunity to survive another 175 years. It's going to be a challenge bringing these teams together in partnership to develop the event, both on and off the water, but I think it's very much needed."

As could be expected of someone who has a significant stakeholding in both America's Cup and SailGP teams, Sir Ben is keen to see the two events complement each other - as would sailors who are trying to compete on both circuits. But he doesn't address the vexed issue of the substantial testing time required in an America's Cup program, as opposed to the limited training time permitted by the SailGP League.

"In terms of the events, there's definitely a job to be done to make sure that the events, SailGP and America's Cup, should be complementing one another, rather than fighting over sailors and fighting over schedules."

"To my mind, it's really clear. America's Cup has a special event status in sailing. It's the Ryder Cup. It's the Football World Cup, however you want to compare it. And SailGP is the Formula 1 circuit. It's the Champions League.

"That's 15-20 events a year globally. And if we look at it that way, then the two events should really complement each other, and it gives the best sailors in the world the opportunity to race in two really complementary series.

"I'm convinced that this [ACP] is what needs to happen to the event. Otherwise, it is just going to, very sadly, slowly slip away. Pretty much every other amazing sporting competition in the world is evolving, and has had to evolve, with the advent of social media and the attention spans of generations of sports fans.

"You cannot sit still in the sports world as it is now. You will die if we want the America's Cup to be something that just people play at now and then, sailing around in very beautiful-looking yachts that go at walking speed and are just specks at a distance.

"Well, [that's] fine, but it won't be a sporting event that is taken seriously anymore."

"It's a brave call. It's tough, tough one to make. But again, I come back to the fact that all the other teams sat there in Barcelona, and all had exactly the same view: 'we have got to do something here and fast'."

Both Ainslie and Emirates Team NZ CEO Grant Dalton are very quick to point out that the ACP is not a SailGP-style franchise operation, but is a Partnership.

However, clearly some elements of SailGP cross over very nicely into an ACP-style America's Cup, including what Georgie Ainslie calls "invest-ability", a reference to the various equity valuations and splits that are a feature of other privately owned sports teams and competitions.

"This is an event [the America's Cup] with incredible heritage and prestige. And if you can do a good job, and really maximise the potential that it has, then those teams, not only in the individual team values, but also their shareholding in the [America's Cup] Partnership should be really valuable in the future," explains Sir Ben.

Towards the end of the chat, Sir Ben admits to the financial struggles that Athena Racing has had since losing the financial and technological support from INEOS Sports, the sponsor of their last two America's Cup campaigns.

In an always time-challenged event, Sir Ben makes a play for the underdog role in the 2027 America's Cup lineup, despite Ian Walker's appointment as CEO replacing him, and with the Athena Pathway program relaunching in Barcelona this week.

"I think we've got a chance. Obviously, it's been tough the last 14 months. As you know, we've had to fund this thing single-handedly.

"Really critically, we've managed to keep a core technical group together.

"So we've been working on designs and ideas around designs, with what the rule changes look like they're going to be for the boat. But we haven't been operating at the level of Luna Rossa, or of Emirates Team New Zealand."

"Can you win the next one?" his wife asks, pointing out that "there's not a lot of time left. Are we going to be competitive enough to win it?"

"I think we've got a chance. Obviously, it's been tough the last 14 months. As you know, we've singlehandedly had to fund this thing.

"Really critically, we've managed to keep a core technical group together. So we've been working on designs and ideas around designs, with what the rule changes look like they're going to be for the boat.

"But we haven't been operating at the level of Luna Rossa and of Emirates Team New Zealand.

"What can we do in these 12 months?"

"That's the key to it. Clearly, we've got a great package and a great team on and off the water.

"I definitely put us in the dark course category. But I wouldn't say it's impossible."