The ‘new F1’ race loved by Will Smith, Rafael Nadal and LeBron James | Other | Sport

Some athletes choose brand deals when they retire, others go for punditry. But for LeBron James and Rafael Nadal, they backed one of the newest sports, dubbed ‘F1 of the water’.

The world’s first all-electric powerboat racing championship was the brainchild of Formula E founder Alejandro Agag and former F1 engineer Rodi Basso, whose CV includes Ferrari, Red Bull and McLaren. E1 teams jostle in identical RaceBird boats on floating racecourses set in eight of the world’s most stunning waterfront locations, be it the Bahamas, Miami or Lake Como. As the RaceBird accelerates, carbon-fibre hydrofoils lift the hull completely out of the water, which reduces drag. But going too high puts the boat at risk of cavitation – where the foils lose grip, and the boat slams back into the water – making strategy key.

Despite being compared to the F1, there are striking differences. E1’s ten teams are backed by celebrity owners including Will Smith and LeBron James, rather than manufacturers like Ferrari or McLaren.

Unlike Formula One’s throaty engines that exceed thrilling speeds of 200mph, E1’s all-electric propulsion reaches top speeds of 50 knots (58mph). What the RaceBirds lack in speed, they aim to make up for in sustainability, designed to minimise noise and disruption to marine life.

Perhaps the greatest difference is that while F1 is currently male-only, E1 requires each team to have a male and female pilot.

“Gender parity is one of the most important foundational elements of E1 because we want to show that men and women can race together,” explained CEO Jamie Copas.

“You’ve got these amazing boats and it’s not about strength it’s about strategy. It’s at a level where men and women can compete on an equal basis.”

Mashael AlObaidan, an E1 pilot who was the first Saudi woman to earn a rally licence and a competitor in the gruelling 15-day Dakar Rally, believes mixed races are vital.

“The first rally that I won in Saudi, they were all men. I was the only girl. So what this says is [racing] is all about skill and talent. It’s how good you are, how strong you are mentally. The physical is important, but it’s not like running, rugby and soccer.”

But the water is where her mind “really calms down”. Now, Mashael would love to support a young female driver and guide her on the journey to a mixed F1 race. “That would be a dream. I’m shocked that even in Europe, there’s none.”

Jamie would like to see other sports where men and women can compete on an equal footing. “Any sport that can do that, they should.”

After three years on the scene, E1 is looking to get two more teams, hopefully female-owned. Despite having mixed pilots, every celebrity owner is male.

“If I woke up tomorrow and we had a female owner, I would be the happiest I’ve been this year because I just think it’s such an important milestone for us and we will get there,” said Jamie.

E1 is now broadcast in 200 countries and has built a growing audience through its celebrity-backed teams and social-media-friendly format.

“We’re in an amazing place considering this is only our third season. We needed to build an audience quickly to launch the championship and we’ve done really, really well. Now we’re looking at how we grow that exponentially,” Jamie explained.

A key focus will be capitalising on their social pulling power, which the E1 structure feeds into. Races are short, intense bursts of action lasting up to 15 minutes, creating the kind of bite-sized highlights that perform well on platforms like TikTok.

The boats’ limited battery life, which requires recharging after two to three sessions, has inadvertently helped shape a championship designed for modern viewing habits.

“If you look at the way that fans engage with sports these days, it’s very different from 10, 15 years ago. The majority of people at a younger age now don’t watch the whole game, race or event. They’ll take a snap of your content and they’ll see it in that way.”

For those who watch in person, the pull is obvious: the backdrops. “We’ve come here because it’s absolutely beautiful. We pick up this championship and put it in the most outrageously beautiful places in the world.” Dubrovnik, Croatia, was last weekend, and Monaco, Miami and the Bahamas are coming up this year.

So, is it the new Formula One on the water? Jamie said it is “flattering” to be even compared, “but the scale is one extreme to the other”.

“We must remember, Formula One has been around for decades and had billions of dollars poured into it, and it’s got amazing fan base.

“Put it this way, if in five years’ time, we’ve got 30% of the audience in Formula One, I’ll be the happiest man on the planet.”