“I don’t believe that oversimplifying sailing – that is, the approach of ‘removing the knots and adding kilometres per hour’ – is the path the America’s Cup should take in an attempt to make the races appealing to everyone”. So says Giulio Bertelli, vice-president of Luna Rossa.
An architect by training, an ocean sailor by profession and now a strategist at the helm of the Italian challenge: Giulio Bertelli shares his vision for the future of the America’s Cup, encompassing technological innovation, an obsession with performance and new frontiers in communication.
Giulio Bertelli is not merely the heir to the dynasty that made Luna Rossa a global icon; he is, first and foremost, a keen observer with a crystal-clear vision of the future of the world’s oldest competition. Born in Milan in 1990, Bertelli began his academic journey in the lecture halls of the Architectural Association in London, but his character was forged on the toughest regatta courses on the planet: from his early experiences developing the AC72s in San Francisco in 2013 with the family business Luna Rossa, to the extreme challenges of The Ocean Race, first on the VO65 AkzoNobel and then on the IMOCA 60 Biotherm.
But to confine Giulio Bertelli solely to the world of sport would be reductive. In 2024, he founded Akta, a start-up dedicated to producing freeze-dried meals for athletes, and in 2025 he made his film debut at the Venice Film Festival with ‘Agon’. The film, which explores the psychology and technical aspects behind Olympic preparation, reveals his ability to decode the complexity of high-level sporting challenges through an aesthetic and sociological lens.
Today, in his role as Vice-President of Luna Rossa, Bertelli finds himself at the centre of an ecosystem where sport, business and technology converge. During a recent meeting in Milan at Casa Harken — a lively discussion between major players such as Armani, Mapei, Maccaferri and Arca Fondi SGR on the value of investing in sailing — Giulio reiterated the mission that guides every decision he makes: ‘I accepted this role with a single goal: to win the America’s Cup with Luna Rossa’.
In this interview, we explore with him the evolution of the Cup, the need to balance tradition and spectacle — in the wake of formats such as SailGP — and his vision for the future of the competition.
What do you think of the new Cup format and the launch of the America’s Cup Partnership?
“The premise is that a partnership has been formed between the Defender (Emirates Team New Zealand, ed.) and the Challenger of Record (now GB1, ed.) and within this framework – like all participating teams – we have joined this partnership. We at Luna Rossa would have been in the America’s Cup regardless of the Partnership, and now that we are part of it, we have a duty to do our best – alongside the other teams – to make the Cup ever better. I believe the Partnership brings mainly benefits to the teams, especially in terms of planning for future campaigns. Both from a technical perspective – and therefore in terms of boat design – and from a commercial perspective, as it allows for a more integrated approach and better agreements for everyone. We at Luna Rossa – though frankly this is the view of all the teams in the Partnership – also have the task of defending certain fundamental pillars that are part of the America’s Cup’s history, both ‘romantic’ and technical. And at the moment we see no problem with this.
Is there anything you’d ‘steal’ from other events like The Ocean Race or SailGP?
We talk about this often, both personally as a sailor with other sailors, and within the team, but also within the ACP board (America’s Cup Partnership, ed.). We discuss what we like and find interesting about the current model, and what perhaps no longer reflects us. It’s not straightforward, because in my view the America’s Cup must draw on its immense heritage, which – even though it has changed enormously – boasts over 170 years of history and possesses an extremely fascinating spirit. If I think, for example, of The Ocean Race, I have to say that in the past it was an event very capable of producing high-quality video content, an aspect they have always handled exceptionally well and better than others, being the first to introduce the Onboard Reporter (a team member dedicated to gathering and producing media directly on board the boats involved in the race, ed.). The Ocean Race works because it is the story of an adventure, not the story of manoeuvres and technical aspects, however complicated and fascinating they may be. Thinking instead of SailGP is a bit more difficult… because the factors that determine its success would not apply well to the America’s Cup model. The fact of having a race every two weeks, in the style of Formula 1, I believe is certainly a successful model for what they do, but I don’t think it could be adapted to the structure of the America’s Cup. At the heart of the America’s Cup is the fact that the boats are all different, and the Cup also drives the development of the sailing industry. Although now, for a variety of technical and timing-related reasons, it has been decided to continue racing with an older boat. Yet technological development is still there, and indeed it is fundamental.
What, then, is the recipe for getting the general public hooked and following the Cup in droves?
In my view, the people who have been glued to their televisions throughout the history of the America’s Cup – and Luna Rossa in particular – have done so because they fell in love with a dream and with the story of an idea that Luna Rossa conveys. I don’t believe that oversimplifying sailing – that is, the ‘ditch the knots and go for the speed’ approach – is what the America’s Cup should be pursuing to make the races appealing to everyone. Then we need to draw a distinction between the America’s Cup and Luna Rossa in Italy. We are lucky because, in addition to sailing enthusiasts, there is a sense of attachment to Luna Rossa that goes beyond sailing, much like with Ferrari: people see us a bit like the Italian national team.
To get the general public excited, we need to tell people’s stories, open the doors a little wider and give a glimpse behind the scenes of this world, which is fascinating, extreme, interesting and at times even absurd. By showing what happens and how a team’s journey evolves during an America’s Cup campaign, we could attract many more people to their TV screens. Regardless of whether they’re sailors or know all the technicalities of the manoeuvres. We mustn’t change the core of the Cup: match races involving hyper-technological, highly complex boats that even sailors sometimes struggle to understand. Sailing will never be like football, but by creating a sense of dream and identity, people can become far more passionate about it, a bit like what happened in MotoGP with Valentino Rossi.
Let’s play a game. If you had to choose for Luna Rossa between having the world’s best helmsman and software that gives you a 10-second lead over your opponents, what would you choose?
The software… but without that helmsman, you wouldn’t have the software! Technology and people are inextricably linked in the Cup. Generally speaking, in top-level sailing today, the sailors who stand out are those who manage to translate ideas into a project that is fully integrated with technological interaction. It’s a world I’ve seen up close because, during my career, I was also involved in the technological development for Thomas Ruyant’s IMOCA. The sailor who simply ‘pulls the ropes’ hasn’t existed for a while now, but human interaction is fundamental. I understand that sometimes it’s hard to grasp this from the outside… it often seems as though ‘the boat does it all’, but that’s not the case. That’s why I keep saying it’s important to highlight the effort behind it all, the hard work involved in getting the boat to do what we want it to do. When you humanise the campaign, by telling the story of the attempts and the effort of all those people behind the scenes who work day and night – whilst also showing the difficulties – it becomes easier for even those who aren’t super-technical to get passionate about and identify with this crazy dream. It’s a challenge for us at ACP, a game we’re playing for this and future editions.
Federico Rossi
