'I couldn't do it without her' - Hamilton on relationship with F1 physio Cullen
Cullen has been a mainstay since 2016, acting as Hamilton’s physio and main support network at every race weekend.
Hamilton has regularly praised Cullen for the impact she’s had on his career, describing her arrival as “one of the greatest things that has happened to me in my life”.
She also played an important role in helping Hamilton recover from his scary crash with title rival Max Verstappen at the Italian Grand Prix in September with the use of acupuncture therapy and yoga.
Speaking ahead of this weekend’s race at the Circuit of the Americas, Hamilton explained how he struggled without a specialist physio during the early phase of his F1 career.
“So Angela and I are naturally incredibly close, Hamilton said. “We pretty much live together and we’re close as friends also. I am very, very lucky to have found Angela because she’s a very special human being.
“So basically when I got to Formula 1 I didn’t have a trainer up until I was in F1 and I was given a trainer. At the time, they’re all called physios. I don’t know how much… I mean a couple of the trainers I had were physios but they were called the physio for the race weekend.
“It was usually a guy who I had been working with, be on the road with me and training with me but I started to notice I was having issues... every now and again, small injuries pop up or you realise that you’ve got a neck problem or whatever it may be but I never had anyone able to fix that.
“It wasn’t until I get back and see Angela so I was like why don’t you come on the road with me because I am not training on the race weekends, I actually need a physio that needs my body and what it needs to be as best prepared possibly for a race weekend and when I am away I can train with whoever.”
Hamilton believes he wouldn’t have achieved what he has in F1 without Cullen’s involvement.
“Along that route we’ve grown together in terms of how we manage our weekends, how we prepare, taking the least stressed route and just making sure that I am as fresh as I can be when I get into the car,” Hamilton explained.
“Ange is generally with me until 10/11pm every day and with me from 6/7am every morning. It’s a very, very important role. A very important relationship. I don’t think that this year has brought us any closer than any other year because we’re incredibly close as it is but we love our job. We love doing what we do, we love doing it together. I am incredibly grateful to be able to have her on the road with me. I don’t think I could do it without her.”
