Will Smith’s Team Takes E1 Title Fight To Luanda As Angola Hosts Electric Boat Race

The race for the 2026 E1 World Championship will intensify in Luanda on Sunday as Will Smith’s Westbrook Racing by Visit Angola battles defending champions Team Brady in the first-ever staging of the all-electric boat championship in Southern Africa.

Westbrook Racing, representing Angola, enters the home round just nine points behind Team Brady, which leads the championship with 119 points. With only the Luanda round and two races in Miami remaining, the Angolan team has a major opportunity to close the gap and put itself in contention for the title.

The UIM E1 World Championship features 10 teams and 20 drivers competing in identical electric-powered RaceBird boats. The competition has already visited Jeddah, Lake Como, Dubrovnik and Monaco before arriving in Luanda, where organisers expect the event to attract global attention to Angola’s capital and its coastline.

Angolan authorities have described the championship as both a sporting and tourism opportunity, with Secretary of State for Tourism Augusto Kalikemala highlighting the international visibility generated by teams associated with high-profile figures such as Smith, Tom Brady, LeBron James, Rafael Nadal and Didier Drogba. The championship is broadcast internationally, giving Luanda an opportunity to promote its tourism and investment potential to audiences around the world.

Beyond the sporting spectacle, the event is also being positioned as a demonstration of clean-energy technology. The RaceBird is a seven-metre carbon-fibre boat powered by a 150-kilowatt electric motor. Its hydrofoil design lifts the hull above the water and enables speeds of more than 80 kilometres per hour without the conventional combustion engine used in traditional powerboat racing.

The championship is also distinctive for its gender format. Every team has one male and one female driver, with both competing in the same races for the same championship points. Since all teams use identical boats, driver performance, strategy and teamwork are critical to success.

Team Brady, owned by former American football star Tom Brady, is seeking an unprecedented third consecutive championship after winning the titles in 2024 and 2025. However, the defending champions face an increasingly competitive field after Didier Drogba’s Drogba Global Africa secured its first victory in Monaco and climbed six places in the standings.

Westbrook Racing’s Angolan identity adds another dimension to Sunday’s race. The team adopted the Visit Angola identity midway through the season, while Angolan airline TAAG has joined as an official partner for the Luanda round.

Following the Angolan race, the championship will move to Miami for its final two races on November 13 and 14, where the 2026 Water Champions will finally be crowned.