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Bradley Scanes is a high-performance coach whose work has brought gold medal winning results for Olympic athletes and played a pivotal role in enabling the stellar achievements of four times Formula 1 World Champion Max Verstappen.
Operating within elite sports over the last 14 years, Brad’s five years with the Red Bull Racing star showcased his exceptional ability to optimise an athlete’s performance through world class training, physiotherapy, nutrition, recovery and sleep management.
Graduating with a Bachelor of Science in Sport & Exercise Science and Masters Degree in Physiotherapy, Brad Scanes first worked in the UK’s National Health Service but it was his part time work with the Chelmsford City Football Club and Southend Football Club which led to a growing career in sport.
After becoming Head of Medical at Southend FC he moved into private practice, working with a range of athletes across sports including UFC, boxing and professional cycling. This was followed by four years working with Team GB’s Olympic Basketball team and a further four year Olympic cycle working as performance coach with Team GB’s Gymnastics team, working directly with Max Whitlock to bring World Championship success and Olympic gold medal winning performances.
It was while operating his own private practice clinic and working with the UK’s Centre for Health and Human Performance that Brad’s growing network began to encompass Formula 1. In 2019 he was invited to trial as performance coach to Red Bull Racing’s Dutch star Max Verstappen.
The two immediately developed a strong relationship, beginning a five year partnership which would lead to Verstappen challenging the dominance of seven-times World Champion Lewis Hamilton. The breakthrough came in a hard-fought 2021 campaign, culminating in a dramatic and controversial season finale in Abu Dhabi which saw Verstappen overtake rival Hamilton on the final lap to win his first FIA Formula 1 World Championship for Drivers.
Further championship titles followed, marking Verstappen out as the dominant Formula 1 figure of the 2020s, Brad maintaining a constant presence to ensure the Red Bull Racing ace sustained peak performance. This included not only the intense preparation and training needed to deal with the physical demands of the sport but also developing and maintaining the winning mindset, motivation, resilience and communication skills required to become the world’s elite driver across successive seasons.
In 2024 Brad stepped away from the relentless travel demands of Formula 1 to work across wider motorsport and sports categories. This includes performance coaching entire teams competing in endurance events such as the Le Mans and Daytona 24 Hour races, but he retains a presence in Formula 1 and lower formulae as well as looking after Red Bull’s UK based athletes. He also coaches Ironman World Champion Lucy Charles-Barclay and they are aiming for a repeat title in 2025.
The science behind enabling peak human performance, both physical and mental, has played a pivotal role in developing the way in which Formula One drivers and team personnel realise their potential in this enormously demanding sport. High performance coaches focus on aspects including physical training, nutrition, diet, hydration and optimising sleep patterns. All the teams now recognise that health and well-being is critical when building teams capable to delivering winning outcomes in a high-pressure environment.
This holistic approach to physical and mental health and well-being used to be confined to Formula One drivers but, over the last 20 years, teams expanded that to include the pit crews and travelling personnel. Today Formula One teams invest in the wellbeing of all personnel, whether factory based or travelling. Mental health has become a major focus as teams seek to help staff develop the focus, sustained performance and mental toughness to deal with the relentless challenge of this high-performance environment.
How high-performing teams execute under pressure, adapt to change and maintain results over time.
The science behind training, recovery and mental resilience.
Lessons from coaching world champions.
Bradley is a great communicator. He was able to take complex performance concepts and distill them down to relatable examples to allow me to understand how to apply them to my life as a business leader. I came away with a number of lessons about how to improve my own performance across both work and my personal life.
I was really impressed by how Bradley was able to take the learnings he has from elite sports performance and apply it to the life of a startup founder. I took away a number of lessons about how best to manage common stressors and challenges without compromising on my ability to perform and my long-term health and longevity as a CEO.
