Meet Angela Cullen: The woman Lewis Hamilton was ‘joined at the hip wi

Hamilton opens up on plans to remain in F1 ahead of 2023 season

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Lewis Hamilton has parted ways with long-term trainer and friend Angela Cullen. Despite seven years together, the pair announced they would be splitting ahead of qualifying for the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.

The news marks a huge change for Hamilton with Eddie Jordan claiming the two were “joined at the hip”.

What does she do?

Cullen is a physiotherapist and has worked with a range of athletes before joining forces with Hamilton. The New Zealander initially worked within athletics before making the switch to Formula One.

She is now part of Hintsa Performance, a world-leading coaching company specialised for sports. In an interview with Hintsa Performance, Cullen said: “My first private practice job was working near Crystal Palace in London, UK’s hive of world-class track and field athletes.

“I’m hugely grateful for this opportunity which fast-tracked me into the world of high-performance sports. Initially, my work was primarily with 100 and 200-meter sprinters, although I worked across all track and field athletes, endurance athletes and the British triathlon team.”

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When did Cullen meet Hamilton?

Hamilton secured the services of Cullen back in 2016 after suffering from neck pain with his previous trainer. The Mercedes star admitted Cullen had helped him solve some of the issues at home which led to Hamilton asking the 48-year-old to join him on the road,

He previously admitted: “I’d always had a male trainer, but I noticed that I was always having different problems. I’d have, like, muscle tightness in my neck, or I’d have problems with my lower back, or glute, whatever it might be, and my trainer could never fix it.

“So you’d have to just deal with it through the weekend and I was like, ‘This doesn’t make sense. I don’t need to train on the weekends.’ So I was like, ‘I need to find a physio.’

“Angela had done a bit of work on me back home, so I spoke to her and asked her, ‘Would you like to come on the road with me?’ and little did I know that we would have the greatest partnership.”

Where is she off to next?

Details on Cullen’s life post-F1 have yet to be revealed but Hamilton has denied rumours the pair have fallen out. However, in an Instagram message praising Cullen, Hamilton did admit that she was set to follow her dreams.

He posted: “So today I hope you’ll join me in wishing her the very best as she takes her next steps to pursue her dreams. Thank you for everything Ang, I can’t wait to see what the future has in store for you.”

Will it affect Hamilton?

Martin Brundle had previously claimed the split would not “detract” from Hamilton’s on-track performance. However, he appeared to change his view in Saudi Arabia as Hamilton struggled over the whole weekend.

Writing in his Sky Sports column, Brundle posted: “Lewis has parted company with his apparently (to me anyway) indispensable physio and confidante Angela Cullen, and also said he can’t connect with this car. His chin was down for much of the weekend.”

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Hamilton’s former team-mate, Nico Rosberg, has also warned the change could have an impact on Hamilton. The 2016 champion feels it would be “another challenge” Hamilton has to overcome in his bid to return to the top.

Rosberg explained: “Even though the split apparently was amicable, Angela was a real friend. It’s with your trainer that most of your time during the race weekend you end up also going to dinner with in a very small, tight group – maybe a family member and a trainer and that’s it.

“For Lewis not to have her I’m sure is gonna be not ideal and not so nice.”

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