Has SailGP overtaken F1 as the best client hospitality in sport?
I received a press release this week announcing Blueberry as the latest sponsor of the Australia SailGP Team. On its own, it’s a perfectly solid partnership: a growth-minded financial trading platform aligning with a fast-rising global sports property. But it landed at an interesting moment. In recent weeks, two separate sponsors have told me that SailGP now offers the best hospitality experience in world sport, better, they say, than Formula 1.
Why hospitality still drives B2B sponsorship ROI
Hospitality remains one of the most valuable assets in a B2B sponsorship. For many brands, particularly in financial and professional services, it is where the real ROI lives. Media impressions, branded content and logo placements can justify a deal on paper, but it is the face-to-face contact with senior clients that generates measurable business outcomes. A well-timed conversation over a race weekend can achieve what six months of email follow-ups cannot. Hospitality is, in many ways, the original conversion funnel.
Formula 1 has dominated this space for decades. The Paddock Club is still the most recognisable hospitality product in global sport: multi-day access, immersive team environments, gourmet dining and the prestige that comes from simply being present. The scale of F1’s calendar, its global audiences and the glamour of its host cities make it an attractive proposition for any brand looking to impress high-value guests. The commercial partnerships continue to grow at an astonishing pace, and it remains, without question, the industry benchmark.
Yet the feedback emerging from some sponsors paints a more nuanced picture. The Paddock Club experience, while still exceptional, has also become a victim of its own success. Demand has surged, guest numbers have grown, and with them, a slight loss of exclusivity.
SailGP’s premium proposition
SailGP was designed from the outset as a premium, hospitality-driven series. It offers a compact race format that plays out metres from the shoreline, allowing guests to feel close to the action without needing to trek through a vast circuit footprint. The Adrenaline Lounge and on-water viewing platforms offer close proximity to the racing and, because events are shorter and more contained, sponsors often feel they get more meaningful time with the guests they bring. Pricing varies by market, but hospitality packages typically sit below F1’s Paddock Club, giving brands more flexibility in how many clients they host or how often they activate.
"We feel that SailGP has the potential to become the ultimate B2B networking platform, and we are already well on the way. The uniqueness of the experience, coupled with the integration of our partners products into our events and the quality of people attending makes is supremely efficient and effective for B2B purposes." Charlie Dewhurst, Chief Commercial Officer, Sail GP.
None of this means SailGP is about to dethrone Formula 1. The two properties operate on very different scales. F1 offers truly global reach, year-round visibility and a brand prestige that few sports can match. SailGP's current audience is approximately 20m per race compared to 80m-100m for F1, so while the two do not compete on audience size, it is important to note that B2B sponsorship is not only about reach; it is about outcomes. When sponsors say the client experience feels more intimate, more controllable and, increasingly, more effective, it raises important questions.
A comparison that is shifting
Is this simply a matter of taste, a fresh format offering novelty? Or is it a sign that the most sophisticated sponsors are reconsidering what they truly need from hospitality? If brands are prioritising an experience that feels exclusive and premium over one that is big and buzzy, then the comparison between F1 and SailGP becomes far more interesting.
The truth is that both properties offer exceptional hospitality, but in different ways. Formula 1 still delivers unmatched status and reach. SailGP delivers access, proximity and concentrated time with clients. Both are on an upward trajectory, but for the first time, F1 may feel the presence of a credible challenger competing for the same VIP-focused sponsors.
