The Great Reshuffle: How SailGP's first transfer window has shaken the league up

We’re just two days out from the start of Season 6 in Perth, where the Fremantle Doctor – that notorious afternoon sea breeze – will punish any team still finding its rhythm. And there'll be plenty of them.

21 athletes changed teams under the championship's first formal transfer framework, the biggest personnel shake-up in SailGP's six-year history.

This week the full crew lists were published ahead of the Perth Sail Grand Prix, so now we know who’s landed where. Here's how the league reshuffled itself.

*Indicates crew change for 2026 Season

Driver: Nathan Outteridge
Wing trimmer: Chris Draper
Flight controller: Andy Maloney
Grinders: Brad Farrand, Julius Hallström
Strategist: Julia Gross
Reserves: Hugo Christensson, Felicia Fernström
Coaches: Sam Meech, Freddy Bergström

Artemis didn't so much enter the transfer market as ransack it. Torbjörn Törnqvist spent north of $60 million to buy this franchise, and another small fortune raiding the fleet for proven F50 winners. Five proven SailGP performers pulled from established crews: Draper from Australia, Maloney from Brazil's flight controller seat, Gross and Farrand from Italy, Hallström from Denmark. The approach prioritises speed over cohesion: acquire role-specific expertise fast and bet on integration under fire.

Nathan Outteridge returns after his Japan team was ejected following Season 2, still one of the sharpest F50 drivers around but facing questions about his ability to perform in a fleet that’s grown to 13. Russell Coutts expects them to be competitive from Race 1, but the first hurdle arrived early: Draper's practice-day injury this week forced local David Gilmour to step in with very limited F50 experience, cutting the precious time Artemis have to bed in as a team. If they can weather the storm in Fremantle and build cohesion under pressure, however, they could be strong contenders for this season’s Grand Final.

Driver: Tom Slingsby
Wing trimmer: Iain Jensen*
Flight controller: Jason Waterhouse
Grinders: Sam Newton, Kinley Fowler
Strategist: Tash Bryant
Reserve: Thomas Needham*
Coaches: Ben Durham, Hugo Stubler

Chris Draper lasted exactly one season before Artemis poached him, forcing Australia to rebuild their wing-trim position for the second straight year. Enter Aussie Iain ‘Goobs’ Jensen, fresh from helping Emirates GBR to the Season 5 title. Two consecutive Grand Final runner-up finishes have left Tom Slingsby smarting, and the question now is whether Jensen's calmer temperament can settle the combustible edges that have cost Australia in sudden-death racing. The breeze-heavy early venues suit the Flying Roos perfectly. Perth will show how quickly Jensen can mesh in alongside old friends Slingsby and Waterhouse.

Driver: Dylan Fletcher
Wing trimmer: Stuart Bithell*
Flight controller: Luke Parkinson
Grinders: Nick Hutton, Neil Hunter
Strategist: Hannah Mills
Reserves: Ben Cornish, Eleanor Aldridge
Performance analyst: Nick Robinson
Coach: Robbie Wilson

Britain's clean sweep – Grand Final, season points, Impact League – made them the indisputable champions of Season 5. Now they're the hunted. Losing a key player like Jensen to Australia would unsettle most crews, but Stuart Bithell's arrival brings ready-made chemistry: he and Dylan Fletcher won Olympic gold together in Tokyo, and the partnership is already looking natural on the water. Still, this is the highest-pressure individual move of the window – any stumble could be pinned on the wing-trim swap. Bithell himself acknowledged filling "big shoes". The early windy events play to GBR's strengths, giving them time to bank results while the new comms click into place.

Driver: Phil Robertson*
Wing trimmer: Kyle Langford
Flight controller: Andrea Tersei
Grinders: Enrico Voltolini, Will Ryan*
Strategist: Jana Germani*
Reserve: Mattia Cesana*
Head coach: Tom Burnham*
Coach: Nic Asher*

Jimmy Spithill's hard reset at the end of Season 5 delivered instant vindication. Phil Robertson jumped into the driver's seat for Abu Dhabi after Ruggero Tita's Olympic brilliance failed to translate to F50 racing, and Italy closed their debut season with their first SailGP podium. Robertson brings proven F50 experience from Japan, Spain and Canada, but he's also the hardest driver to predict in the league: capable of race-winning starts and penalty-inducing chaos in equal measure. Losing Julia Gross and Brad Farrand to Artemis, alongside two-time Olympic medallist Will Ryan's arrival from Australia, this is almost an entirely new Italian team for Season 6. Will Robertson be able to keep up his early form?

Driver: Erik Kosegarten-Heil
Wing trimmer: Kévin Peponnet*
Flight controller: James Wierzbowski
Grinders: Linov Scheel, Jonathan Knottnerus-Meyer, William Tiller
Strategist: Anna Barth
Reserves: Victoria Schultheis*, Emma Kohhoff*
Coaches: Lennart Briesenick, Jacopo Plazzi

The most improved team of Season 5, capped by their first-ever event win in Geneva after Sydney's penalty disaster cost them 32 event points. Then Stuart Bithell left for Emirates GBR, taking stability with him just as Germany had started to click. Kevin Peponnet's arrival from France adds proven SailGP experience to the wing trim role, but forces Germany to rebuild comms and chemistry from scratch. The team’s late-season surge suggested they'd finally cracked the code; now they face an integration test while trying to keep up that momentum.

Driver: Quentin Delapierre
Wing trimmer: Leigh McMillan*
Flight controller: Jason Saunders
Grinders: Timothé Lapauw, Olivier Herledant, Bruno Mourniac
Strategist: Manon Audinet
Reserve: Enzo Ballanger
Data analyst: Lucas Delcourt
Head coach: Philippe Mourniac
Team manager: Philippe Presti*

Kevin Peponnet's departure to Germany triggered a reload. Leigh McMillan returns to wing trim after three seasons away, the last one with Brazil, bringing proven F50 competence along with a reputation as a strong character. The question for the French boat isn't technical – it's whether McMillan’s presence amplifies Quentin Delapierre's confidence or creates friction in the decision-loop. France have shown they can consistently deliver in strong breeze, and Philippe Presti's arrival as team manager from Italy brings serious America's Cup pedigree to the operation. Fifth overall last season suggests consistency over regular podium threat, though Sassnitz's fairytale – overnight rebuild, then event win – showed the French team’s spike potential. Chemistry matters more than raw ability here.

Driver: Nicolai Sehested
Wing trimmer: Tom Johnson
Flight controller: Ed Powys*
Grinders: Hans Christian Rosendahl*, Luke Payne
Reserve: Magnus Overbeck
Strategists: Kahena Kunze, Anne-Marie Rindom
Coaches: Victor Paya, Francesco Bruni*

Rasmus Køstner has been a constant on the Danish team as flight controller since their debut in Season 2. His departure to Brazil strips institutional knowledge and has led to Ed Powys’ promotion from grinder to flight controller. Abu Dhabi brought Denmark's first event win, and the team looked calmer, more methodical, using foils differently in ways that suggested confidence in their setup. New coach Francesco Bruni arrives to convert blistering pace – Denmark hold the speed record at 103.93km/h – into cleaner, more consistent results.

Driver: Martine Grael
Wing trimmer: Pietro Sibello*
Flight controller: Rasmus Køstner*
Grinders: Marco Grael, Mateus Isaac
Strategist: Paul Goodison
Reserves: Breno Kneipp, Richard Mason
Coach: Paul Brotherton

Olympic gold medallist Martine Grael's adaptation to the F50 hasn't clicked yet. Eleventh overall in Season 5, punctuated by New York's race win that proved Brazil can compete when everything aligns. Losing both their America's Cup veterans – Andy Maloney to Artemis, Leigh McMillan to France – strips continuity after just one season together. Rasmus Køstner's arrival from Denmark brings five years' F50 knowledge to flight control, while Pietro Sibello's move from coach to wing trim shows how tight the talent pool has become. The key "keep" move was Goodison remaining as strategist, his measured approach now doubly important as Rio looms in May – the Brazilians finally getting their home event but with questions on whether they can deliver.

Driver: Giles Scott
Wing trimmer: Paul Campbell-James
Flight controller: Billy Gooderham
Grinders: Tim Hornsby, Tom Ramshaw, Alex Sinclair*
Strategist: Annie Haeger
Reserves: Nicolas Rolaz*, Ali Ten Hove
Coach: Joe Glanfield

Early-season Canada looked unstoppable – Sydney second, Los Angeles winners, San Francisco runners-up – before a mid-season slump dropped them to sixth overall. Giles Scott's crew have answered by keeping consistency rather than overhauling the project. Alex Sinclair arrives from Italy to bolster grinder depth, Nicolas Rolaz slots in as reserve, and the winter was spent investing in data analysis infrastructure. These are incremental upgrades for consistent performers, not wholesale changes. The challenge for NorthStar remains sustaining keeping form across a full campaign.

Driver: Taylor Canfield
Wing trimmer: Michael Menninger
Flight controller: Hans Henken
Grinders: Peter Kinney, Anna Weis, Mac Agnese
Strategist: Andrew Campbell
Reserve: Harry Melges IV*
Coach: Marcus Lynch
Data analyst/coach: Ivan Bulaja

Harry Melges IV adds credibility with serious results pedigree, but one reserve signing doesn't change the fact that USA finished in last place, behind start-ups Italy and Brazil. The USA's Season 5 was penalty-laden chaos: Sydney's capsize ended the weekend before it started, 24 event points and 18 season points disappeared through infringements, eventually arriving to the Abu Dhabi final on negative season points. The all-American approach remains unchanged – Mike Menninger on wing trim, Hans Henken on flight control, Taylor Canfield still driving – though F50-specific experience significantly lags behind the top tier. If early Season 6 results don’t arrive, pressure to make further changes ramps up quickly. Could we see Harry take the helm?

Driver: Diego Botín
Wing trimmer: Florian Trittel
Flight controller: Joel Rodríguez
Grinders: Joan Cardona, Bernardo Freitas, Andrés Barrios, Matthew Barber*
Strategist: Nicole van der Velden
Reserve strategist: Victoria Travascio*
Coach: Simone Salvà

Champions who missed the Grand Final. Spain were looking strong in the middle of Season 5 with back-to-back wins in San Francisco and New York, putting them at the top of season points looking every bit the defending titleholders, but then wobbled through the European leg and finished fourth overall. Matthew Barber and Victoria Travascio arrive as depth additions, not game-changers. Spain seem to believe the formula still works; they just need to execute it consistently.

Driver: Peter Burling
Wing trimmer: Blair Tuke
Flight controller: Leo Takahashi
Grinders: Marcus Hansen, Louis Sinclair
Strategist: Liv Mackay
Reserve: Finn Henry
Coaches: Matt Steven*, Will McKenzie*

Completely unchanged. New Zealand avoided the winter market entirely, betting continuity over fresh blood. The Black Foils have now made three Grand Finals, even finishing Season 4 first on season points, but still haven’t managed to claim that winner-takes-all final race. Three consecutive Grand Finals, three consecutive runner-up positions, despite season-long dominance – the format has become New Zealand's curse regardless of Burling and Tuke's trophy cabinet. Leo Takahashi has settled in nicely as flight controller after replacing Andy Maloney for Season 5. On paper, the Black Foils definitely have it in them to win SailGP. Can familiarity finally crack the code?

Driver: Sébastien Schneiter
Wing trimmer: Arnaud Psarofaghis
Flight controller: Bryan Mettraux
Grinders: Stewart Dodson, Matt Gotrel
Strategist: Maud Jayet
Reserve: Arno de Planta
Coaches: Javi Torres, Bernie Cortes

No changes. Switzerland's roster remains identical, a bet that cohesion beats talent acquisition. Arnaud Psarofaghis and Bryan Mettraux bring America's Cup experience, and Stewart Dodson carries a championship title from Spain's Season 4 title. The pieces fit, but results haven't followed consistently. Sébastien Schneiter can deliver race wins – Portsmouth showed that – yet Switzerland hover mid-pack across full events.

SailGP's first formal transfer framework delivered exactly what it promised – genuine intrigue, visible market dynamics, and a milestone that changes how teams build rosters.

Perth becomes the immediate proving ground. Can Artemis overcome the Draper injury setback and still be capable of reaching finals out of the gate? Will Great Britain and Australia's wing-trim changes stay calm under load or crack in the Fremantle chaos? Can Phil Robertson fire Italy into title conversation without sliding into penalty roulette?

The Fremantle Doctor delivers its verdict this weekend, and we'll be there to cover every moment as Season 6 kicks into action.