Why Stars Like Nadal And Brady Are Betting On E1's Electric Raceboat

Forbes

07-07-2025

Rafael Nadal and Will Smith with Rodi Basso at the Lake Como GP
Rafael Nadal. Tom Brady. LeBron James. Will Smith. Steve Aoki.
What do they have in common? Some are the greatest athletes. Others, iconic names in global entertainment. But they also all own teams in one of motorsport's boldest frontiers: E1, the world's first all-electric hydrofoil powerboat championship.
At first glance, it may seem like a fever dream. Sci-fi speedboats gliding above the water, backed by a rotating cast of celebrities. But underneath the sheen of star-studded ownership is a championship that is quietly rewriting the playbook of what sport is.
Co-founded by former Formula 1 engineer Rodi Basso and motorsport entrepreneur Alejandro Agag, the sport was built with an aim to electrify the marine industry. But in its mission, it has also made inclusion a non-negotiable with each team fielding a male and female pilot in their lineup.
Sure, it's another racing league. But in many ways it's also a case study in how visibility, values, and velocity can fuse into a new kind of sporting empire. The question is: how did a startup series about electric boats become a magnet for celebrity investors and why are so many of them buying in now?
Rafael Nadal with Team Rafa pilots (Cris Lazzaraga and Tom Chiappe)
Why Celebrities Over Corporate Investment?
In new sporting ventures, the phone calls always go to the usual suspects: brands, manufacturers and corporations. But E1 directed that energy elsewhere.
'The reason why we went to talents in sports and entertainment is because the OEMs (Original Equipment Manufacturers) in the marine industry don't really see a sport platform as a marketing tool,' said Basso who is now serving as the CEO.
As an engineer by trade, Basso sees the world through a lens of efficiency, not just in the boat's performance, but in how the championship breaks into public consciousness.
He said, 'As a young organization, one of the first KPI (key performance indicator) you need to pursue is the media reach and by joining forces with talents, we can claim to have 1.1 billion followers in digital channels…so it's a massive advantage.'
But how were celebrities convinced by a venture that, at first glance, perhaps looked more like a tech experiment than a sports franchise? The answer lies in three things: purpose, proximity and potential.
It's purpose being a motorsport series that happens to be developing sustainable technologies and having gender parity embedded in its very structure.
Proximity because many of its investors already live the coastal lifestyle the sport embodies. 'They are all very passionate about living the life of the coastal areas," said Basso. 'They all have boats, and they all go to amazing places of the world, and they want to make sure that, also their future generation, their kids can enjoy that in the future.'
And potential because an early-stage league backed by Saudi's Public Investment Fund and led by former engineers, people who have worked in motorsport, and entrepreneurs hints at serious financial upside. It looks viable. As of now, two E1 teams have been trading their license at already five times their original value.
A Championship Built For Parity
In motorsport, gender inclusion is often a retroactive fix. E1, however, built it into its architecture. Not as mere tokenism but with conviction.
'I absolutely refrain from calling inclusivity a strategy," said Basso. "Because when you call it strategy, it means that there will be some managers with a checklist trying to tick boxes and make it look like it's working or something. We don't. We mentioned this, but we don't claim it too much, because this is just our natural belief in how an organization should work.'
Mashael Alobaidan after winning the Dubrovnik GP
One of the clearest proofs of that conviction is Pilot Mashael Alobaidan. She hails from Saudi Arabia and is currently leading the E1 standings alongside her co-pilot Dani Clos for Aoki Racing Team.
'It's refreshing and it's powerful,' she said. 'We race not as the female pilot or the male pilot but as equals. And that really changes the game. It opens the door for true performance to shine through.'
The RaceBird
Team Rafa
The boat itself, the RaceBird, reflects this philosophy. Sleek, silent and hydrofoiled skimming the sea, designed for finesse not just brute force.
'You need a lot of emotional intelligence,' Basso said. Sensitivity to conditions. A read of the race, not just reaction. And that, he argued, often gives female pilots an edge.
'It's [emotional intelligence] one of the most underrated superpowers an athlete can have,' said Alobaidan. 'Last race, I was fifth…I had two options. It's either I give up or I say, 'You know what? Keep on pushing.' Keep on pushing every lap until you overcome and overtake.''
E1's insistence on visibility is personal for her too. 'I received many messages from young not only girls but boys as well in Saudi,' she said.
'Winning in Jeddah and just on that podium…looking at the amount of Saudis and young kids and the way they look at Team Aoki and how their eyes sparkled really touched me.'
'It's really important aspect of what I do in life is to inspire the young generation because we are capable. We have the talent, we have the skills… it's just that tiny push for them to see a role model, someone among them, just like them, achieving that, then this is enough for them to go after the dream,' added Alobaidan.
The Future
The E1 grid
With celebrity owners lending their platforms, engineers crafting silent, sustainable speed, and pilots like Mashael Alobaidan turning representation into record-setting performance, the championship is carving out space in an industry often stubborn to change.
'E1 is a sport with purpose…It's important to say that sustainability is not a stealth communication strategy, but it's a an opportunity for value creation,' said Basso.
The long-term vision is ambitious: grow from nine to twelve teams, expand the calendar to 15 global races, and bring on the league's first female team owner.
E1 isn't just betting on their RaceBirds to drive investment. They're betting on visibility shaping perception. Betting on the right machine. The right mission. The right message. Reimagining the sport as not just a vehicle for entertainment but for impact.