“She was a breath of fresh air”: Lewis Hamilton is still not over split with long-time confidante Angela Cullen

Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton stated that he misses his former physio Angela Cullen.

Cullen had been working as a physio for the seven-time world champion since 2016 and was an essential figure in his success from 2017-2020 as he dominated the sport. The duo parted ways as professionals at the beginning of the season.

No specific reason was given except that Cullen wanted to pursue her own dreams. But her departure surprised Hamilton fans, especially on social media, who were fond of the New Zealand physio.

Speaking to L'Equipe about Cullen, the British driver discussed his close relationship with her and said:

"I miss her every day. She was a breath of fresh air for me every day. She was always a great help during the seven years we worked together. She was and still is a very good friend. In fact, we're talking about getting together again and doing something together soon, like parachute jumping, maybe.... I'm very grateful for everything she's given me. I think you always have to adjust your routine, but the team helped me bounce back."

"It was definitely the best the car has been for the last year and a half" - Lewis Hamilton

Lewis Hamilton has been quite critical of his team since the introduction of the 2022 regulations, but he revealed that the Mercedes car he drove in Barcelona (where he finished P2) was the best car he had driven in 15 months.

As per Sky Sports, Lewis Hamilton said:

"It was definitely the best the car has been for the last year and a half, so that's kudos to the amazing group of people we have back at the factory continuing to work hard and push the car forwards. It's felt the best yesterday and today that it's felt for the past 14 or 15 months. That's super encouraging I think, not only for me but for everybody in the team."

He added:

"This will be a big boost for everybody's morale and we'll take that energy on to developing the car. There will be times when the Aston is maybe slightly ahead or the Ferrari maybe is ahead. But I think our race pace continues to be a strength of ours, as it was last year. I think this weekend particularly we understand the car even more so we can count on that being strong moving forwards."

It will be interesting to see if the newfound confidence in the car will translate into Lewis Hamilton getting more podiums and wins in 2023.