SailGP Team Australia

The original SailGP dynasty now comes dressed in Australian underwear and backed by Wolverine and Deadpool – which is either the perfect rebrand or the most elaborate joke in professional sailing. Either way, Tom Slingsby's team remains the measuring stick everyone else swings at. Three championship titles, a near-permanent home on the podium and a core lineup that’s been foiling together since the F50s first touched water in 2019 make them the closest thing SailGP has to a legacy franchise.

Slingsby – Olympic gold medallist, America's Cup winner and the only Driver-CEO-co-owner in the league – steers a world-class crew through chaos better than pretty much anyone else. When conditions push the F50 to its limits, the Flying Roos thrive. Yet the Season 5 runner-up finish in Abu Dhabi marks two consecutive Grand Finals where they've been the bridesmaid, not the bride. Since Spain snatched the Season 4 title, the shine has dulled slightly, with Season 5 bringing mechanical issues, penalty-heavy races and rare tactical miscues from a group normally defined by precision.

The off-season brought significant change to the crew dynamics. Chris Draper's departure to new team Artemis opened the door for Iain Jensen – fresh from winning the Season 5 championship with Emirates Great Britain – to join as wing trimmer. Jensen's Olympic gold-medal temperament and proven ability to perform under pressure offers a counterbalance to Slingsby's occasionally combustible racing style. The chemistry between them will define whether Australia can convert their consistent front-running into another championship.

Season 6 finds the Flying Roos in familiar territory: favoured by most, hunting the title, and carrying the weight of expectation that comes with being SailGP's most successful franchise. The celebrity ownership adds mainstream marketing reach, but make no mistake – this is still Slingsby's show, and he's not done winning yet. The question isn't whether they belong in the conversation, it's whether they can finally close out another Grand Final and prove the dynasty era isn't over, just temporarily interrupted.