Brad Scanes, Max Verstappen’s former performance coach, decided to end his F1 career last season after a painful talk.
Brad Scanes, Max Verstappen’s former performance coach, claimed it felt “like a break-up” when he informed the world champion he was departing. Scanes was one of the Dutchman’s closest advisers while at Red Bull, working alongside him from 2020 to 2023, a period that included his first world title and following supremacy. Scanes recently decided to leave Verstappen’s close circle, admitting that it was difficult.
It’s no secret that the world champion holds things close to him, but Scanes was totally embraced, dining with the driver, his manager, and his father Jos on several times. As a result, the initial conversation sparked strong emotions.
He told legit scores: “For me, it was great; I felt like I was part of the family. I’d get invited to birthday parties and other events, and if I was in Monaco, I’d hang out with his manager or go out for dinner and a beer with his father. I believe it was the most difficult aspect of leaving; having that first chat with them seemed like a breakup. “The nerves and hesitancy before that conversation were difficult.”
Scanes’ role, by his own admission, was to handle everything so Verstappen could concentrate completely on driving. Since entering the sport in 2015, it was clear that the Dutchman possessed extraordinary skill, which resulted to his maiden race victory in Catalunya in 2016. In 2021, he reached the zenith of his career, defeating Lewis Hamilton in a thrilling title fight.
Scanes acknowledges that year marked a difference in his thinking, with the Red Bull driver frequently going all out to win. His development meant he learnt to accept second place with his eyes on a great prize.
His former coach continued: “He wants to win, and I had a same mentality, not as a sportsman, but in my own sector, which is why we got along so well. We had an excellent ability to build around each weekend, treating it as a final that we went out to win. Actually, 2021 was a shift we needed to make in order to finish second and score points.
Scanes has admitted that, while he ensured Verstappen was physically prepared to face the demands of driving an F1 car, he also handled the less glamorous jobs, such as the world champion’s washing. “I wasn’t just taking his underwear every night,” he said with a laugh. “We normally run six sets of everything throughout a race weekend. Technically, that is enough to get you through, but it may not leave you with any spares. So everything he’d wear on Friday. I’d organize the washing so we had it back by Sunday and had a spare.
“If there’s a red flag, it’s raining, or he’s sweating profusely, we may replace it at any point. They just wear an undershirt and a suit once because we race in hot places most of the time.”
