F1 is one of the most physically demanding sports in the world. It’s athletes – the drivers – need to be at the top of their physical game in order to perform at an optimal level. To ensure this, F1 drivers hire physical trainers or performance coaches, who travel the world with them to take care of their well-being.
These performance coaches spend a lot of time with their clients – the drivers. As a result, they develop strong bonds. They are a huge reason behind a driver’s success and deserve recognition and appreciation from the F1 community.
Keeping that in mind, let us have a look at some of the performance coaches, who take care of the best in F1 today.
Max Verstappen – Rupert Manwaring
Max Verstappen, the most dominant driver in F1 at the moment parted ways with his trainer Bradley Scanes at the end of the 2023 season. Scanes joined Verstappen’s camp in 2020 and was a part of the team when the Dutchman won three back-to-back world titles.
Now, he has snapped up the services of Rupert Manwaring, who was Carlos Sainz’s physical trainer for eight years. Manwaring will be familiar with Verstappen’s presence in the garage. He was Sainz’s performance coach when the Spaniard made the jump to Toro Rosso in F1, as Verstappen’s teammate.
Sergio Perez – Jo Canales and Xavi Martos
Sergio Perez, unlike most drivers in F1, has two performance coaches. Jo Canales and Xavi Martos are both Mexican, but they take turns in assisting Perez. This is because both of them have other clients too.
Martos and Canales take turns traveling to Grand Prix weekends with Perez, and whoever does, makes sure that the Guadalajara-born driver is performing at the highest level possible.
Lewis Hamilton – Stephen Lord and Kylie
Perhaps the most famous trainer/performance coach in F1 in recent history was Angela Cullen. She became a popular figure, visible by Hamilton’s side between 2016 and 2022. Their split up was difficult for Hamilton because Cullen practically took care of everything.
Thereafter, the Briton had to revamp his team, and now, he has Stephen Lord or “Stevo” close to him. He was with Hamilton at McLaren and takes care of Hamilton’s affairs as of now. However, in terms of training himself, he has someone named Kylie helping him out.
Charles Leclerc – Andrea Ferrari
Charles Leclerc, the golden boy of Ferrari, has someone of the same name as his performance coach! Andrea Ferrari has been at the Monegasque’s side since he made his debut in Formula 1. They also seem to have developed a good friendship.
In 2023, Leclerc took Ferrari for a ride in his Alfa Romeo (yes, Ferrari in an Alfa Romeo) in an encounter that left the latter feeling nauseous. They took a ride in the snow on an SUV, and Andrea isn’t used to the movements of a car as well as Leclerc (thanks to him).
Daniel Ricciardo – Pyry Salmela
Currently, Daniel Ricciardo does not have a dedicated personal trainer for himself, and Visa Cash App RB’s performance coach Pyry Salmela takes care of his affairs, as he reported by GP Blog. His ex-coach Michael Italiano was someone he was very close to, but he left Ricciardo after the latter was sacked by McLaren.
Italiano left Ricciardo to coach Yuki Tsunoda at V-CARB (formerly AlphaTauri). Interestingly, Ricciardo himself made his F1 return with the Faenza-based team, although he was on the other side of the garage with Salmela.
George Russell – Aleix Casanovas
Aleix Casanovas has been a mainstay by George Russell‘s side for some time now. When Russell won his GP3 title eight years ago, Casanovas was by his side. Today, heading into his third year with Mercedes and Casanovas will be looking to help the Briton be at his physical and mental best.
As per Kym Illman, Casanovas himself was into motorsports and raced bikes before delving into his current profession.
Fernando Alonso – Edoardo Bendinelli and Fabrizio Borra
Like Sergio Perez, Fernando Alonso too has two performance coaches. Edoardo Bendinelli and Fabrizio Borra take turns in helping the Spaniard stay in good shape.
Considering the fact that Alonso is 42 years old, Bendinelli and Borra have to work extra hard, owing to F1’s demanding nature. Alonso, however, is undeterred by the fact that he is the oldest driver on the grid, and remains more motivated than ever to chase even more success.
Lando Norris – Jon Malvern
Lando Norris‘ performance coach is Jon Malvern. Malvern has been with Norris for over eight years now, and by profession, he is an exercise physiologist, researcher, and strength and conditioning coach. He has been by Norris’ side throughout his McLaren tenure.
By the look of things, Malvern will be at McLaren for the foreseeable future after Norris signed a contract extension with the Woking-based outfit.
Valtteri Bottas – Antti Vierula
Hailing from Finland, Antti Vierula trains his compatriot Valtteri Bottas. He was with Bottas when the latter was at Mercedes and then followed him to Alfa Romeo, the team that has now been rebranded to the Stake F1 team.
As per Kym Illman, Bottas’ trainer Vierula also looks after his client’s commercial activities. He does that in addition to taking care of Bottas’ well-being.
Alex Albon – Patrick Harding
Alex Albon’s trainer Patrick Harding is one of the most experienced performance coaches in the paddock. He trained Olympians in the past and trains other athletes in addition to Albon. At the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, he was the lead physiotherapist for team Great Britain.
He also worked for the famous soccer club Arsenal and takes care of Alex Albon’s business interests too.
