Sir Ben Ainslie has had quite a journey over the past seven months—one that began with frustration and bewilderment after being removed from Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s Ineos-led America’s Cup project.
What was once a bitter split now sounds, surprisingly, like something he’s ready to look back on with a calmer, more reflective mind.
The Moment Everything Changed
Back in April, the announcement hit like a bolt from the blue: Ainslie would no longer be part of the 38th America’s Cup campaign for 2027.
Instead, leadership was handed to Dave Endean, who stepped in as chief executive of the challenge.
For Ainslie, who had long dreamed of ending Great Britain’s 173-year America’s Cup drought—made painfully clear in the 7–2 loss to Emirates Team New Zealand in 2024—this was not just a professional setback, but a deeply personal blow.
A Fiery Reaction That Shocked the Sailing World
Athena Racing, the team he fronts, didn’t hold back at the time.
The response they issued was blistering, expressing shock at Ineos and Mercedes F1’s direction and raising uncomfortable questions over who controlled which parts of the partnership’s intellectual property.
The message was unmistakable: Ainslie felt blindsided, and the sailing community watched as the usually composed Olympian voiced his frustration in unusually stark terms.
Time Softening the Edges
But seven months have passed—long enough for anger to cool and perspective to shift.
When speaking to The Times, the 48-year-old struck a very different tone.
In fact, he even suggested he’d happily sit down for a drink with Ratcliffe someday.
He recalled the wins they shared, the energy they built as a team, and how much of that came from Ratcliffe’s backing.
Business, he admitted, can be ruthless, and sport even more so.
None of this, he now believes, is truly surprising.
Moving Forward Without Bitterness
Ainslie made it clear he’s not clinging to the past.
Whatever disappointment he once felt has settled into something more practical.
He emphasised that both sides have gone their separate ways and that the IP they created together is now shared—each taking forward what they’ve built into their own future projects.
It was a partnership he speaks of warmly, but one he’s no longer dwelling on.
“We’ve both moved on,” he said, leaving little doubt.
A New Goal on the Horizon
And moved on he certainly has. Right now, Ainslie is fully invested in leading Emirates GBR through the SailGP championship—a competition in which his team is thriving.
Heading into the Grand Final in Abu Dhabi, Emirates GBR holds a three-point edge over the Black Foils, formerly the New Zealand SailGP Team.
This weekend could bring another major chapter to his already extraordinary sailing career.
Looking Ahead, Not Back
The story that began with public anger has shifted into something far more grounded: experience, resilience, and focus on the next race rather than the last dispute.
Ainslie’s split with Ineos may have dominated headlines in April, but today, he seems more interested in what comes next than in rehashing what went wrong.
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