Angela Cullen proved to be an inspirational and important person for Lewis Hamilton until she departed Mercedes and left Formula 1 all the way back in March 2023
It has been just under two years since Angela Cullen departed Lewis Hamilton’s side at Mercedes.
Soon after Hamilton completed his first day at Ferrari’s Maranello HQ, Cullen reunited with the seven-time F1 World Drivers Champion at the red brand. The 50-year-old physiotherapist, who became a pivotal figure within Mercedes due to her working relationship and friendship with Hamilton, was staying in Fiorano, a stone’s throw from the Scuderia’s gates.
Her exit in 2023 led to Hamilton’s final year with the Brackley team being one of the most challenging campaigns of his career. After initially deciding to leave motorsport completely, Cullen found herself at Indycar, working with Meyer Shank Racing star and former Ferrari prodigy Marcus Armstrong.
Fast forward to the present day, the New Zealander was seen alongside Hamilton at Maranello, which provoked a lot of excitement amongst F1 fans.
When Cullen departed, Hamilton said the intrinsic demands of working in F1, from the relentless travelling to the pressure of the environment, was behind Cullen’s decision to depart the sport. He told Sky F1 before the 2023 Australian Grand Prix: “It’s an incredibly challenging role, I think for anyone in those positions.
“It is a lot of travelling and a lot of time away from your family and you grow incredibly close together. If you’re at dinner, during your weekends and while you’re travelling, it’s usually you, your trainer or physio, your family or whatever it may be, it’s incredibly intimate in that sense, and you become great friends. Angela is living her life right now.
“She’s got so many great ideas of things she wants to do. We talk and message pretty much every day. We’re still going to go skydiving together and we’re always going to be in each other’s lives. We’re stuck with each other, unfortunately or fortunately!
“We’ve been through thick and thin so I’m grateful our relationship is as good as it is and I think we’ve probably had one of the longest relationships in the sport, so incredibly grateful for her and I love her dearly.”
Cullen also revealed that she was going to retire completely from working in motorsport when she initially decided to walk away from Mercedes. Yet, her passion was soon rekindled after attending an IndyCar race and being exposed to the thrills of motorsport again.
She said to the IndyCar Series YouTube channel: “When I left Formula 1, I thought I was moving away from motorsports. I retired, actually.
“I took a year off last year and then I connected with Marcus Armstrong. I just worked with him on mental skills and things in the background. In the off season I was sponsored by SOS Hydration, which he was sponsored by too.
“[Armstrong] said ‘do you want to come to a race?’ I said ‘I’d love to come out’. IndyCar just hit me. It is so fun. I just fell in love with it. The racing is incredible, the drivers are incredible. I arrived and I haven’t left.
“I came into motorsport and I went straight to Formula 1. I worked for Lewis Hamilton with Mercedes Benz for seven years. It was a huge learning curve for me, not only was I learning about the sport but the demands of motorsport on the drivers.”