Angela Cullen opens up on ‘huge learning curve’ with Lewis Hamilton and her motorsport return

Angela Cullen has said working in Formula 1 was a “huge learning curve” when she took on a role with Lewis Hamilton that was her first in motorsport.

Having begun her physiotherapy career with Team GB’s sprinters in athletics, she became Hamilton’s physio and performance coach as part of the Hintsa Performance company in 2015, working with the Mercedes driver through the majority of his title-winning years before the pair parted ways last year.

Angela Cullen on ‘huge learning curve’ of working with Lewis Hamilton in Formula 1

Hamilton described Cullen as “one of the greatest things that’s happened to me in my life” back in 2020, lauding her influence on how he went about his career when they were working together.

Now in IndyCar with fellow New Zealander Marcus Armstrong, Cullen revealed she had actually retired from motorsport when she professionally split with Hamilton before the call came to attend a race with Armstrong, from which she has spent the past few months as his performance manager and admitted she “fell in love” with IndyCar as a series.

Having arrived in motorsport at the very top, she admitted it was a demanding task to begin with.

“I came into motorsport and I went straight to Formula 1,” Cullen said in an interview on IndyCar’s official YouTube channel.

“I worked with Lewis Hamilton with Mercedes-Benz for seven years, and so it was a huge learning curve for me. Not only was I learning about the sport, but obviously the demands of motorsport on the drivers.

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“So when I left Formula 1, I thought I was moving away from motorsport. I retired actually.

“So I took a year off last year, and then I connected with Marcus Armstrong and I just started working with him on mental skills and things in the background.

“In the offseason, I was sponsored by SOS Hydration, which he was sponsored by as well, and they connected us.

“He said, ‘Do you want to come to a race?’ and I was like, ‘Oh yeah, I’d love to come out.’ Oh my God, like IndyCar just hit me, it is so much fun, and I just fell in love with it.

“The racing is incredible, the drivers are incredible, I was overwhelmed by the expertise of everyone in the paddock. So I arrived, and I haven’t left.”

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