© LAT Images for Mercedes-Benz Grand Prix Ltd
Lewis Hamilton’s relationship with his physiotherapist, assistant and friend Angela Cullen has been captivating the Formula 1 audience for years. Here are some fun and interesting facts about Angela!
Anybody who’s watched Formula 1 in the last few years has undoubtedly noticed a blonde woman who appears to be at Lewis Hamilton’s side at all times when he is not in his car.
The woman is Angela Cullen, and formally she is Lewis Hamilton’s physiotherapist and assistant, but in reality she is so much more. She is also the seven-time champion’s closest ally, friend and confidant.
Last year we wrote an in-depth profile of Angela, looking at her life, career and her relationship with Lewis, and now we present five fun and interesting facts about the seven-time champion’s right-hand woman!
1. Angela is “one of the greatest things that’s happened” to Lewis
As we already wrote, most F1 fans know Angela is Lewis’ physiotherapist, but her responsibilities actually include taking care of his daily routine, personal logistics, diet, sleep patterns, travel arrangements and more.
More importantly, Angela is always there to provide emotional support for Lewis and helps him stay in the best frame of mind possible. It is no wonder then, that in 2020 the Briton described her as “one of the greatest things that’s happened” to him.
“People for sure won’t understand it, naturally, because they see it from a distance, but she has been one of the greatest things that’s happened to me in my life,” Hamilton said.
“I’ve been fortunate to work with a lot of people… and she’s the single hardest-working woman that I get to be around.
“She’s focused, selfless, and she makes my weekends peaceful. Every day I wake up, whatever time it is, she’s just positive – never a single day has she been negative, so that’s very, very important.”
Hamilton went on to describe how he came to realize he needed a person like Angela in his life.
“When you come into Formula 1, there’s this whole idea of physios, but a lot of them, or some of them, are just trainers. They still take on the title of ‘physio’ – but a physio is a physiotherapist.
“And for years, 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,” concluded the Briton.
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2. Lewis and Angela sometimes spend their free time together
The pair’s relationship also extends beyond their work in Formula 1. There have been numerous occasions when Angela could be seen participating in various activities with Lewis in their downtime
For example, after the 2020 Australian Grand Prix was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Lewis remained in Australia and went rock climbing with Angela.
Another instance of the two hanging out together was right after the 2021 Monaco Grand Prix, when Lewis, Angela, Toto Wolff and other friends were seen enjoying their time aboard Sir Philip Green’s yacht, in Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat, France.
It was another day of sports, as Lewis could be seen riding a jet ski and generally winding down after a difficult weekend.
3. Angela and Lewis have matching tattoos
The amount of confidence the duo have in each other is made evident by their matching tattoos. It has been reported that Lewis and Angela both have “Loyalty” tattooed on their wrists.
This was confirmed by paddock photographer Kym Illman.
“She’s loyal to Lewis, so loyal in fact, that on her wrist she has loyalty tattooed, like Lewis has on his wrist. The inner-circle are loyal to each other,” said Illman.
“One of her roles is to get Lewis to the track. Sometimes she even has to act as a bodyguard for Lewis.
“She’s been in the field of sport for some 25 years, she’s his PA, his driver, his performance coach, his confidante, his friend.
“It is her role to eliminate all the distractions for Lewis over a race weekend, so for 4 days, she’s with him almost every minute of those 4 days.”
4. Angela is an athlete in her own right
Angela was born in Devonport, Auckland, New Zealand, on 5th August 1974. Being from New Zealand, which she herself says lends itself to outdoor activities, she was drawn to sports from an early age.
“I was born and grew up in New Zealand, famous for outdoor activities,” Angela said in an interview with her employer Hintsa Performance.
“I have always had a passion for all sports. I was hugely competitive and got involved in everything from netball, soccer, cricket, volleyball, basketball, to swimming athletics. If there was a sports team, I wanted to be part of it.
“But it was field hockey that I represented New Zealand in from the ages of 15 to 21. This was my first introduction to high-performance sports and human performance.”
Her love of sports ultimately led her to her current occupation as a Performance Coach.
“Being hugely competitive I have always loved the challenge of getting the best out of myself which was soon to translate into getting the best out of others.
“During school, I loved maths, sciences and the practical nature of subjects such as physiology, anatomy and physics, so when I started university a degree in health science and physiotherapy was a natural choice.
“It combined my love of science and my passion for sport and interest in body performance,” concluded Cullen.
5. Angela is married, with children
Since Lewis and Angela obviously share a close bond, it’s natural that observers often wonder if there is more to their relationship than just a professional connection and friendship.
However, there are no romantic links between the two. Although Angela is very guarded when it comes to her personal life, it is known that she is married, and lives with her husband, a cycling coach, and her two children (a son and a daughter) in the Alps region of France.
Hinsta Performance’s director of coaching and sports science Pete Mcknight describes the “quirky” appeal her private life brings to her relationship with Lewis.
“There’s also just something quirky about it,” Mcknight said.
“A woman in her mid-forties, with a family at home, two young kids, and then there’s this mid-thirties racing driver. It might seem a really weird match, but it just works.”
You can follow Angela’s exploits on her Instagram page. She joined the platform in 2018 and has around 109 thousand followers.
Pogledajte ovu objavu na Instagramu.
To find out more about Angela and how she started working with Lewis, you can read our in-depth profile on her or our latest “All you need to know about Angela Cullen” piece.. You can also find some of Mercedes’ official photos of Lewis and Angela here.
