America's Cup: Ratcliffe versus Ainslie - who owns ex-"Ineos Britannia"?

A legal dispute is not what you want as a team on course for the America's Cup. But that's exactly what Ineos, the former title sponsor of the British America's Cup team, has now announced. For two campaigns, Sir Ben Ainslie and Sir Jim Ratcliffe fought side by side for the America's Cup in the 36th and 37th Cup cycles. However, since their internal dispute over direction towards the end of the 37th America's Cup and the sports divorce between Ainslies Athena Racing and title partner Ineos at the beginning of 2025 has turned from togetherness into antagonism.

America's Cup: Tug of war for British pride

Now the former title partner and chemical giant Ineos has also announced legal action against Sir Ben Ainslie's team. At the centre of the dispute is the most successful British yacht in Cup history: the winner of the Louis Vuitton challenger round to the 37th America's Cup and challenger of the New Zealand Cup defenders is owned by Ainslie's racing team GB1, which wants to enter the next Cup with the AC75 after the refit.

The lawsuit announced by Ineos is now to have the owner of the former "Ineos Britannia", which was the first British boat to reach a Cup final in 60 years, taken to court. The now escalating dispute over the team's assets had already begun with disputes during the 37th America's Cup and the official separation soon after the Barcelona summit.

In the dispute, the AC75 yacht is the tangible symbol, but it is also about valuable intellectual property, data and further technological developments that have been developed in shared times. Because the AC75 yachts from the 37th America's Cup will be used again in the next Cup edition in the summer of 2027 off Naples after being adapted to the new regulations, a challenge would not be possible without the ex-"Ineos Britannia" and now refit "GB1".

Painful sports divorce in the United Kingdom

The speculation that has been going on for more than a year about who owns the enormously expensive yacht, both in terms of development and construction, and other campaign assets could reach a new dimension with the legal dispute. It will not be helpful for the Ainslie team in view of the already tight preparation time.

After the 37th America's Cup, former title partner Ineos had initially also wanted to continue its Cup involvement as Team Ineos Britannia. Without Ainslie, but with the established team. However, Ratcliffe and his team had abandoned these plans after, in their view "too long negotiations with Athena Racing" withdrawn in April 2025.

Ratcliffe explained his decision on 9 April 2025 as follows: "After our participation in the last two America's Cups, this decision was very difficult for us. We were the most successful British challenger in modern times with an exceptionally fast boat. And thanks to the invaluable support of the Mercedes F1 engineers, we felt we had a real chance in the next Cup. Unfortunately, that opportunity has now slipped away."

Ineos statement: more than €400 million investment over two Cup campaigns

This was followed almost a year later by the Ineos setback and the reclaiming of the yacht and other assets. In a statement to the British media on 21 March, Ineos explained: "Ineos is surprised that the boat we built for the last America's Cup (AC37) has been taken over by Athena Racing."

Ineos' stance is unequivocal: "The boat belongs to Ineos and it is unreasonable to assume that it can be used for the next competition without our consent." The Ineos statement continues: "The boat was the most successful British boat in history and cost Ineos 180 million pounds (ed.: equivalent to around 208 million euros); it was a natural progression from the first boat, which cost a further 170 million pounds (ed.: around 196 million euros)."

Ineos is therefore allocating the total investment collected via two Cup campaigns - which it says amounts to more than 400 million euros - to the two cycles and the two boats. The following announcement was made: "Ineos is taking legal action to obtain the return of the boat." Ainslie's Athena Group reacted to the Ineos announcement on the same day and also published a statement.

The mission remains: to win the Cup for Great Britain

In it, the Ainslie team also touched on the history of its creation, "Athena Racing is proud of its achievements over the last 12 years since the formation of the British America's Cup team in 2014. Britain has yet to win the America's Cup in its 175-year history, which began off our shores in 1851. The mission for the last 12 years remains the same: to win sport's oldest international trophy for the nation."

On the current situation, the Athena racing team noted: "Our America's Cup Team GB1 is currently training alongside our women's and youth America's Cup teams in Cagliari in preparation for the first America's Cup pre-selection regatta in May. Based in Portsmouth, the 150-strong team is focussed on the task ahead, working with some of the UK's best technology companies and developing the skills and careers of future generations."

The Athena statement even includes thanks for the once fruitful co-operation with Ineos. It says: "We will always appreciate the sponsorship and support of Ineos during the last two campaigns. They culminated in the team becoming the most successful British challenger for 60 years in Barcelona 2024." At the same time, the Ainslie campaign emphasises its right to the boat and other assets.

It should come as no surprise to Ineos that assets that are and have always been owned by Athena Racing will be utilised for the AC38." Athena Sports Group

With four gold medals and one silver as the most successful sailor in Olympic history between 1996 and 2012, Ben Ainslie initially laid a massive foundation stone for his world career in sailing. He won an America's Cup victory as a tactician with Oracle Team USA in 2013 before committing himself to Great Britain's old dream of winning the America's Cup.

38th America's Cup: the first pre-regatta takes place in May

Today, Ainslie is the founder and CEO of Athena Sports Group with three teams under its umbrella: the renamed GB1 British team for the America's Cup, Emirates Team GBR in the SailGP and the Athena Pathway development programme. It has been known since the end of 2025 that the London-based private equity firm Oakley Capital, led by Peter Dubens acquired a majority stake in Athena Racing has.

Dubens is not only a long-standing promoter of British Cup interests, but is now also the man who has won the British "Challenger of Record" in the newly formed America's Cup Partnership (ACP) represents. The escalating dispute in the motherland of the America's Cup, where the bottomless jug was first sailed off the Isle of Wight in 1851 and the silver trophy was named after the victory of the US yacht "America", is not entirely unexpected.

It remains to be seen in which time frame and in which direction the dispute will now develop. While the refit for the British AC75 "GB1" is progressing on land, the Ainslie team in Cagliari on the first Cup pre-regatta this year ahead. From 21 to 24 May, the first clash in the new Cup cycle will take place off Sardinia on the smaller AC40 Foilers.

Trouble on land, work on the water - here the British (and of course the hosts of Team Luna Rossa) are already training in the Cagliari area, preparing for the first pre-regatta of the 38th America's Cup in May with two-boat races on AC40 yachts: