Who is Angela Cullen? Key Lewis Hamilton ally sparks wild speculation ahead of F1 season

Michael Schumacher and Ross Brawn, Christian Horner and Adrian Newey, Lewis Hamilton… and his physio?!

Famous Formula 1 partnerships are nothing new, but usually they’re between a driver and team principal, with Hamilton himself combining with Toto Wolff for an unprecedented era of dominance at Mercedes.

One of Hamilton’s most famous partnerships is in fact with his trainerCredit: GettyAll good things come to an end, but one key absentee may explain Hamilton enduring some of the worst form of his career in 2024.

Angela Cullen was the Brit’s physio and trainer from 2016 to 2023, and was there for his most successful period in the sport as he took home four of his seven world titles.

The 50-year-old New Zealander was almost inseparable from Hamilton in the paddock, with his choice of trainer proving to be inspired.

A former field hockey player who competed for her country’s youth teams, Cullen’s fascinating career took her to a health science and physiotherapy degree, and later a move to England.

read more on lewis hamiltonWorking as a senior physiotherapist for London’s English Institute of Sport, she played a huge part in Britain’s Olympic team, and would continue her work with high performance athletes, which ended with her linking up with her future partner in crime Hamilton.

Revealing how the partnership came about the Brit recalled: “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.”

Cullen arrived in F1 in 2016 and was always by Hamilton’s side assisting him during race weekendsCredit: GettyDuring their time together, Hamilton racked up 50 of his record-breaking 105 wins, making him the most successful driver in F1 history.

Like all trainers, the Devonport native was seen tailing Hamilton in and out of the paddock, and was more often than not the last person he spoke to before he got into his Mercedes and the first he would run to for a hug after a victory.

Explaining their relationship further, Hamilton said: “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.

“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.

“I think it’s important in life to put positive people around you. You can’t be going around with deadweights, you can’t be going around with people who don’t inspire you to be better and lift you up when you’re down. You need to be around people who can do that for you, and she’s one of them.”

When Hamilton hit an all-time low in 2021 after the controversial season finale in Abu Dhabi where he lost out on a record-breaking eighth world title due to improper safety car usage, the now 40-year-old admitted he considered leaving the sport.

Cullen was there to pick up the pieces when Hamilton lost the title in brutal circumstances in 2021Credit: GettyThankfully for his fans, he continued, with Cullen there to pick up the pieces, which is understood to be part of her role monitoring the driver’s mental health, diet and sleep. That is until March 2023 when they decided to part ways.

Speaking upon their split, Hamilton said: “Angela is living her life now and has so many great ideas of what she wants to do. We message pretty much every day and we’ll still skydive together and be in each other’s lives.

“We’ve been through thick and thin and I’m grateful that our relationship is as good as it is. We’ve probably had one of the longest relationships in the sport.”

Cullen had been on the road with Hamilton and Mercedes for ten months of the year, and as a mother with two young children it seemed only fair that she took some time away.

That’s particularly understandable when you consider her parental and friendship role with Hamilton who revealed: “It’s an incredibly challenging position and you spend a lot of time away from your family.

“You grow incredibly close together, at dinner at your weekends it’s normally with your trainer, it’s incredibly intimate and you become great friends.

‘He’s an emotional guy’ – Christian Horner on the Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen relationship

The pair have been spotted skydiving and swimming together over the yearsCredit: @lewishamilton

The pair are said to both have matching ‘Loyalty’ tattoosCredit: Kym Illman
“Angela is with me until 10pm or 11pm every day – and with me from 6am or 7am every morning.

“We love doing what we do, we love doing it together, and I’m incredibly grateful to have her on the road – I don’t think I could do it without her.”

Those final comments proved to be prescient during a difficult 2024 season for Hamilton who was beaten by Mercedes teammate George Russell in his final year at the team before a 2025 switch to Ferrari.

Despite ending a two-year winless streak with an emotional win at home at Silverstone, Hamilton hit another low to end the season in his second home of Brazil where he came home in tenth.

He would make a cryptic comment over team radio about it ‘being their last race together’ and would later reveal that he did indeed think about quitting with three Grand Prix left to go.

Perhaps not coincidentally, it was also Hamilton’s first full season without Cullen by his side since 2015.

On top of driving Hamilton to and from the track and maintaining his health, Cullen even occasionally walks his dogsCredit: AFP

The Kiwi is full of positivity and much-loved in the F1 paddockCredit: GettyThe Kiwi, meanwhile, has been stateside, and with such a level of notoriety gained alongside F1’s most famous face, she was later spotted on TV in America at IndyCar, and went on to explain her unexpected return.

“When I left Formula 1 I thought I was moving away from motorsport. I retired actually,” she told NBC.

“And then I connected with Marcus Armstrong and I just started working with him on mental skills and things in the background.

“In the off-season, I was sponsored by SOS Hydration who he was sponsored by as well and they connected us.

“We have very similar values. We’re very driven. We’re very competitive. I was really excited that he was that same way.

“Then he said: ‘Do you want to come to a race?’, and I said: ‘I’d love to come out’.”

Cullen even has her own fansCredit: Getty

So it was no surprise it was a story when she returned to motorsport in IndyCar in 2024Credit: NBCCullen has clearly caught the motorsport bug straight after stepping away, and that could be huge news for Hamilton fans.

She recently posted a picture skiing on Hamilton’s 40th birthday the same day that he did the same, and eagle-eyed fans not only picked up on her Ferrari red coat, but a bollard with the number 44 in the background – the same figure that Hamilton races with.

That has sparked rumours of a reunion for the new campaign, with Hamilton clearly in need of a lift, and Cullen certainly back in the motorsport mix.

Read More on talkSPORTHaving signed for Ferrari almost a year ago, Hamilton will finally complete a childhood dream of suiting up in red this year, and despite the Scuderia looking like they may well have championship-competing pace, hopes aren’t exactly high in the British side of the garage thanks to their new driver’s poor season.

But, much like when the driver and trainer first started working together almost a decade ago, he may be about to pull out a title-winning trump card that no one was expecting and finally claim that record-breaking eighth world championship, putting the Hamilton and Cullen partnership up there with the sport’s very finest.