Ahead of the 2024 Formula 1 season, three-time World Champion Max Verstappen has poached Carlos Sainz’s personal trainer, Rupert Manwaring.
Manwaring will replace Verstappen’s current personal trainer Bradley Scanes, who has opted to depart.
It’s certainly a significant blow for Sainz, as Manwaring has been his personal trainer ever since he made his F1 debut back in 2015.
Sainz and Manwaring have worked together for eight years, with the personal trainer believing that it’s now time to move on.
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Somewhat ironically, Verstappen’s father, Jos, worked with Manwaring’s father during his own F1 career
Manwaring works with performance coaching company Hintsa Performance, who were founded by the sadly passed Dr Aki Hinsta.
He sadly died in 2016 after battling cancer.
Hinsta famously worked with two-time World Champion Mika Hakkinen and also seven-time World Champion Lewis Hamilton.
Manwaring joins Verstappen on the back of the Dutchman ending his 2023 campaign with a 19th victory of the season, at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
It was the perfect way to end what’s been a perfect season for the 26-year-old, as he cruised to the title with ease.
In fact, Verstappen was so dominant in 2023, that Red Bull would’ve won the Constructors’ Championship purely on his points.
The Red Bull driver obliterated several records this year, including most wins in a row (10), most wins in a season (19) and most points scored (575).
He was only defeated three times throughout the 22-round season, twice by Sergio Perez and once by Sainz in Singapore.
Another record which Verstappen destroyed was percentage of wins in a campaign, with the previous record having sat at 75 per cent, achieved by Alberto Ascari in 1952.
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Verstappen won 86.4 per cent of the races this year, raising the record to a completely different level.
Given how strong he was this year, many expect Verstappen to be just as dominant in 2024 and potentially in 2025 as well.
With the current regulations remaining until the end of 2025, it’s widely expected that he’ll be extremely difficult to beat should Red Bull continue to have the best car on the grid.