A matter of affinity. Richard Mille is entering the America’s Cup and, on closer inspection, it is hard to imagine a more natural arena. Speed, lightness, extreme materials and a relentless pursuit of performance: on one side, haute horlogerie pushed to its limits; on the other, sailing transformed into a concentration of cutting-edge technology.
It is familiar territory for Richard Mille. The brand has been involved in Formula 1 for years, the ultimate laboratory where every gram, every material and every fraction of a second can make the difference. Today, the parallel with the America’s Cup is almost inevitable. With the advent of foils, boats have stopped simply sailing and started flying, turning into extraordinarily sophisticated racing machines. If Formula 1 represents the technological frontier of motorsport, the America’s Cup has, in every sense, become the Formula 1 of sailing.
This is the context for Richard Mille’s arrival alongside GB1, the British challenger for the 38th America’s Cup. The Swiss watchmaker will serve as Official Timing Partner to the team led by Team Principal Sir Ben Ainslie and CEO Ian Walker on the road to Naples 2027. The partnership takes Richard Mille into the heart of the world’s oldest international sporting trophy and, at the same time, alongside one of the key players in the next challenge.
For GB1, this will be its fourth America’s Cup campaign. Behind the team stands Royal Yacht Squadron Ltd, Challenger of Record for the 38th edition. Ahead lies an objective that carries a very special significance for British sailing: finally bringing home the trophy whose story began there in 1851. It was then that the schooner America crossed the Atlantic and defeated the British fleet in a race around the Isle of Wight, giving rise to what would become the America’s Cup.
One hundred and seventy-six years later, the stage will be Naples. And the first taste comes as early as 24–27 September, when GB1 takes to the waters of the Gulf for the first time for the second Preliminary Regatta, racing against the other teams aboard one-design foiling AC40s.
At the helm will be Dylan Fletcher, who, together with other key members of the team, will wear Richard Mille watches throughout the campaign. He is joined in the sailing team by Ben Cornish, Bleddyn Mon, Andrea Tesei and Jemima Lines.
“I was really excited when the prospect of this partnership first emerged, and it’s fantastic to now officially bring these two brands together,” said GB1 helmsman Dylan Fletcher.
“Richard Mille has always pushed the boundaries of watchmaking, pioneering the use of cutting-edge materials and complex movements to achieve the highest level of performance. Ultimately, that is exactly what we are trying to do with GB1 in competitive sailing, so there is a real synergy in the values we share and in our desire to challenge the limits of what is possible.”
And it is precisely around the concept of pushing limits that these two worlds find their strongest common ground. The modern America’s Cup now bears little resemblance to the traditional image of sailing. AC75s are technological laboratories capable of rising above the water and turning wind into speed through aerodynamics, hydrodynamics, electronics and increasingly sophisticated control systems.
It is an approach that closely mirrors Richard Mille’s philosophy in creating its timepieces: reducing weight, experimenting with new materials, developing unprecedented technical solutions and putting every component at the service of performance.
For GB1, meanwhile, the challenge goes well beyond the AC40s. By the end of 2026, the team plans to launch its reconfigured AC75. The main structural hull from the 2024 campaign will remain, but beneath the surface much will change. The internal layout will be completely redesigned to accommodate five crew cockpits, while a new battery-based energy storage and management system, new control electronics and major upgrades to the appendage interfaces and foil systems will also be introduced. A transformation driven by the new 2027 rules cycle and by the relentless pursuit of performance that defines the Cup.
“Our partnership with GB1 represents a natural extension of our involvement in the world of sailing, at the heart of one of the oldest and most demanding sporting disciplines. The 38th America’s Cup rewards precision, relentless innovation and resilience, values we have championed since the founding of Richard Mille. GB1 has already made British sailing history and it is a true privilege to support their experienced team in their continued pursuit of bringing the trophy home,” commented Peter Harrison, CEO of Richard Mille EMEA.
For Richard Mille, of course, the sea is hardly uncharted territory. Over the years, the brand has forged an increasingly close relationship with sailing, from major classic yacht regattas to contemporary racing. The America’s Cup, however, represents another step forward. Not simply because of the event’s international stature, but because it takes that relationship into an arena where sport, technology and experimentation arguably reach their most extreme expression.
“Sailing has always been a fantastic source of inspiration for us. This new partnership is a natural continuation of our journey in developing dedicated watches and collaborating with the world of yacht racing. It embodies the perfect combination of purity of line, performance and innovation that defines the Richard Mille identity,” added Amanda Mille, Brand and Partnerships Director at Richard Mille.
Formula 1 and the America’s Cup, then. Asphalt and water, single-seaters and AC75s. The playing field changes, the philosophy does not. In both, speed is merely the visible result of something far more complex: research, materials, precision and the constant drive to push the limits ever further.
For Richard Mille, stepping aboard GB1 is above all about this: entering a competition where time does not simply measure performance. It decides it.
Matteo Zaccagnino
