F1 champion Max Verstappen's sneaky advantage over rivals revealed

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Max Verstappen's sneaky advantage over F1 rivals revealed

The Dutchman has built a reputation as one of the sport's fiercest competitors

Kevin McKenna

Wednesday 20 August 2025 20:27

A former ally of Max Verstappen has opened up on the F1 world champion's relentless desire to uncover any potential advantage over his rivals.

Bradley Scanes has built up his reputation as a world-class performance coach, and played a vital role in Verstappen's four consecutive title victories after teaming up with the Dutchman at Red Bull in 2019.

Verstappen is known for being ruthless in his pursuit of perfection, and speaking on the High Performance Podcast, Scanes provided an example of how the driver left no stone unturned when the Saudi Arabia Grand Prix was added to the calendar in 2021.

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“Saudi Arabia, no one could get a handle on that circuit for the entire FP1 and Max just kept going purple, purple, purple [sectors] and that’s a difficult track as well," he said.

“So Red Bull didn’t even have the simulator version of the track in their simulator, and Max had managed to find someone online to like build out what the track looked like, like a spec to put on his own simulator so that he could practice the track.

“This is the sort of work ethic and you know the differences that make champions - this is 2021, we’re in a title fight, every little bit matters.”

While Verstappen ultimately finished second behind Lewis Hamilton in the penultimate race of that season in Jeddah, he would clinch his first title the following week after controversially coming out on top in Abu Dhabi.

Bradley Scanes (right) has played a key role in Max Verstappen's success

Verstappen set to lose F1 title

Verstappen went on to comfortably win the next three championships as he established himself as one of the sport's all-time greats.

But the 27-year-old looks set to miss out on that honour in 2025, with McLaren duo Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris ahead in the standings going in to the final 10 races of the year.

Despite winning just twice all season on the track, Verstappen is arguably the happiest he has ever been away from it following the birth of his daughter Lily in spring.

He recently admitted that his priorities in life have now shifted as he opened up on the importance of keeping perspective now that he has become a father.

He has been enjoying some time with his family over the summer break ahead of his homecoming race in Zandvoort next weekend.

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Red Bull Max Verstappen Lewis Hamilton Saudi Arabian Grand Prix Bradley Scanes