Every summer, for four weeks, a quiet bay on Sardinia’s north-east coast becomes an unofficial Formula One paddock on water. Drivers, team bosses and billionaires anchor within sight of one another, chasing the one thing money still struggles to buy in this sport: privacy.
Two Drivers, Two Philosophies
Charles Leclerc’s 30-metre Riva, Sedici, costs an estimated $15–19 million and carries his birth date in its name. Max Verstappen’s Unleash the Lion, a 33-metre Mangusta, runs a similar price tag but a very different ethos — built for speed on water, not showing off at anchor. Fernando Alonso took the opposite route entirely, commissioning a $4.5 million solar-electric catamaran designed, in his words, to avoid ego altogether.
Not Everyone Buys In
Lando Norris owns no yacht at all, preferring to be a guest aboard others’. Lewis Hamilton, once a yacht owner himself, now leans on charters. And Toto Wolff — reportedly the wealthiest figure in this world — has never confirmed owning a boat at all.
The Real Money Is Elsewhere
Team owner Lawrence Stroll’s Faith dwarfs anything owned by a driver, at nearly 80 metres and nowhere near the true giants of the bay — vessels worth hundreds of millions, owned by billionaires for whom Formula One is simply where they socialise.
▶ The full story — who really owns what, and why one photograph exposed it all — is unpacked in our latest video below, and subscribe to Paddock Life by The Motion Report, where we show you how the world of Formula 1 actually spends its money.
Formula 1, F1 Drivers, Superyachts, Charles Leclerc, Max Verstappen, Lawrence Stroll, Sardinia, F1 Lifestyle
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