Daniel Ricciardo: From withstanding searing heat to 'fighting tension in the body,' how F1 star's performance coach prepares driver

By George Ramsay, CNN

Updated 1232 GMT (2032 HKT) March 18, 2022

Ricciardo (left) and Italiano celebrate winning the Monaco Grand Prix in 2018.

(CNN)Australian personal trainer Michael Italiano previously had little knowledge of Formula One, but that soon changed when he received a surprise text message from an old acquaintance.

That message came from Formula One Daniel Ricciardo at the end of 2017, who wanted Italiano to travel the world with him as his performance coach. The pair, who had met through mutual friends in Perth at the age of 12, hadn't discussed the possibility of working together before, and most of Italiano's experience of F1 had come from following Ricciardo's rise through the motorsport ranks over the years.«I used to watch the races, for sure,» Italiano tells CNN Sport as he prepares to enter his fifth season alongside McLaren's Ricciardo.«Did I know the history behind it? No. Did I know the sport science behind it or how to train a Formula One driver? No. So 2018 was a lot of work.»Read MoreThe learning process entailed picking the brains of those around him in the F1 paddock, as well as scouring Google Scholar for any available information on the physical demands of driving headlong around a track for two hours.But Italiano's responsibilities don't stop with drawing up fitness sessions for the 32-year-old Ricciardo.An F1 performance coach is charged with ensuring their driver is in prime physical and mental condition at the start of every race — something that means the pair spend 250 days of the year together.Italiano takes responsibility for massages, nutrition, sleep, jet lag, mindfulness and anything in between to ensure race weekends run smoothly.ReplayMore Videos ...MUST WATCHF1 star Daniel