Many special relationships form in the F1 paddock, but maybe none more so than that between a driver and his trainer. Unique, intriguing and some even a little weird – I recently got an eye-opening insight into some of these wicked bromances.
They say behind every powerful man there is a strong woman. Well, in F1, behind every great driver stands an excellent (and usually very muscly) trainer. They are the men behind the men, both inflicting pain and soothing it. When the storm comes, they bring the calm and there are no lengths they won’t go to, to prepare their drivers for every looming battle. They are the trainers of F1!
Rupert Manwaring Trainer to Carlos Sainz
Formula 1 blood flows through Rupert’s veins and he was perhaps destined to work in the sport from the moment he was delivered. Wise beyond his years and the son of a former F1 Team Manager of 30 years to Surtees, Brabham, Lotus, Tyrell, Minardi and Lola, the British trainer has a wealth of knowledge to offer.
“He (Dad) used to come back from these amazing places, I’d see these incredible photographs of his time in the 80s and 90s, when Formula 1 was really, really exciting with some great characters,” the Hintsa trainer remembers fondly. “So, it definitely captured my imagination from a young age. I always had ambitions to get involved at some capacity. When the opportunity came up where I saw the other drivers have a trainer or physio or coach, I thought well I can apply my studies and experience in that regard in the sport that I grew up with.”
With a Masters in Sport and Exercise Physiology, Rupert took his first step into motor racing through being a lecturer at his university. The role gained him access to unique testing equipment which he used to measure the stress response in drivers when racing a car and how they could become fitter. This led to him working in endurance racing and the 24 Hours of Le Mans before landing the job as Carlos’s trainer a year and a half ago.
Since then he can be seen constantly by the driver’s side. If Sainz was to fall over, Rupert would be the one to pick him up, and the Spaniard’s training is of the utmost importance.
Carlos’ Training
“They’re all quite young fit guys. We get plenty of time to work with them in the pre-season training, you can work them up and build them up quite well. They are obviously adrenalin junkies so there’s the risk they might go for a mountain bike ride and …”
Rupert explains that F1 drivers must have a good cardiovascular base to last an entire race with good core strength and ability to apply force within the body. For Carlos he sees that strength training is key.
“We’ve made those endurance sessions quite intense. Those longer cardio sessions are not just sitting on a bike they’re more Crossfit sessions, we’ve enjoyed those this year. Having to repeat quite high repetitions for a longer period of time than what we were doing before. So it’s definitely more intense.”
Rupert notes that you don’t want to push the driver too hard the day after a race, and instead regulate the intensity to a certain degree. For the Toro Rosso driver this may mean more restorative cardio-vascular sessions the day after a race, massage in the evening then later in the week start to build it up again.
In the pre-season he trains two sessions up to three hours a day, or sometimes one intense hour. Sometime strongman lifts and tyre flips are thrown into the mix. “If you’re training for a marathon you do running,” explains Manwaring. “In most racing you can’t really replicate that in the gym you do just end up doing some fun exercises just to mix it up. You’ve got to make it fun for them.”
“They’re the ones that are under quite a lot of pressure so you have to be sympathetic to that but there are times where you have to be quite firm with them, it’s a balancing act.
Carlos loves to hit the greens for a spot of golf, something Rupert stays well clear of. But outside of the gym or the track the pair can often be seen at the beach or park having a kick around.
Diet
Carlos eats very healthy back home and tries to replicate this at the track. Rupert boasts the Red Bull catering staff are fantastic and can prepare anything they like. It’s usually more calories and carbs on a race weekend with higher proteins during the week. Electrolytes are used for hot races and a full supplement program is supplied by Hintsa as well.
The best thing about being Carlos’s trainer?
“I like the human challenge. You give them the ideal training, the ideal nutrition but at the end of the day you’re working with a human, with highs and lows. But also if you feel you can make a difference and you can encourage them to approach more effectively, then that’s the most rewarding thing. It’s the excitement. They say if you love a sport and you’re not good enough to perform in it, the next best thing it to coach it, teach it and that’s definitely what this role is.”
Carlos says…
“It’s a bit like a…I don’t know how to describe it. But you spend more than 200 days a year taking care of gym, diets, etcetera and it gets to a point where it’s like a brother, more (closer) than with him than with my sisters.”
Tips for trainers wanting to work in F1:
“It’s quite a different sport from many others and there’s not a huge sports science or human performance element to it compared to football or rugby where that’s the biggest part of the team. So, try and get involved with other forms of motorsport where it’s a bit more accessible, with younger drivers or how I did with endurance drivers. That’s a good training ground, then it’s about knowing people. Never be afraid to approach someone or get in contact with someone. Had I hesitated to do that I definitely wouldn’t be in this position.”
Check back tomorrow to meet Marcus Ericsson's trainer, or click here to meet Romain Grosjean's, or click here to meet Kevin Magnussen's.
