Who is Rupert Manwaring? Exploring all about Max Verstappen’s newest performance trainer

It was recently confirmed that Max Verstappen will be working with a new performance coach and personal trainer Rupert Manwaring. The Spaniard has been in F1 for several years now and has mainly worked with Ferrari driver Carlos Sainz before teaming up with the reigning world champion.

Manwaring has been a familiar name in the F1 paddock for several years, since his father, who also had the same name, worked in the sport for 25 years, taking up roles like racing director, team manager, and commercial director. Manwaring senior has worked with drivers like Ayrton Senna, Nelson Piquet, Fernando Alonso, Mark Webber, and Max Verstappen's father, Jos.

Manwaring junior also followed in his father's footsteps and entered the sport as a performance coach, mainly working with Sainz for almost eight years.

Manwaring is a psychologist, a clinical sports therapist, and a strength and conditioning coach. From 2024 on, he will be seen alongside Verstappen in the Red Bull camp. Since he worked under the Red Bull umbrella when he coached Sainz in Toro Rosso, he is somewhat familiar with Red Bull's environment.

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F1 pundit questions continued hate against Max Verstappen

Although Max Verstappen is the most dominant driver on the current F1 grid, he is not the most loved. There are many in the F1 fanbase who dislike the Dutchman for several reasons.

While Verstappen was celebrating his victories and podiums, many fans cheered him on several race tracks. Questioning the hate against the Red Bull star, Martin Brundle wrote in his exclusive Sky Sports column:

"Of course, he was feisty and a little wild as a teenager when first racing in F1, but he sorted that out and is mostly a model of calm out on track now, and as far as anybody else when it comes to hard racing. I don't understand why he's still seen as the villain, but the fans will make up their own minds."

"Max didn't get everything right, for example when the drivers walked out to the grid for the traditional end-of-season group photograph there were some boos as he emerged, as we've heard at some other tracks too," he added.

Max Verstappen ended the 2023 F1 season with a bang by winning the Abu Dhabi GP. He won 19 races out of 22 and scored a whopping 575 points. The Dutchman clinched his third world title in the Qatar GP, with four races still remaining.