Breaking: Lewis Hamilton and Angela Cullen Part ways despite L…read more
Lewis Hamilton and Angela Cullen Part ways despite L…read more
Lewis Hamilton’s debut home race in scarlet proved dramatic on several fronts. On Saturday the seven-time champion was searingly honest, labelling Ferrari’s tyre-warm-up problems “a rude awakening” after both red cars tumbled out in Q2. Overnight the team gambled on a low-downforce rear wing and, when an early Safety Car appeared on lap 9, Hamilton was first of the frontrunners to ditch the medium compound. The undercut was brutal: once in clear air he reeled off 15 laps at qualifying-style pace and vaulted to P4, equalling Ferrari’s best finish of 2025 so far. The grandstands along the old start-finish straight erupted—the roar audible even in the pit lane.
But while tifosi waved flags, a quieter scene unfolded behind the garage: Hamilton and long-time confidante Angela Cullen stood together for several minutes before she slipped out a side gate, suitcase in tow. Italian broadcasters Sky Sport F1 and La Gazzetta dello Sport later reported that the pair have decided she will no longer attend every grand prix. Both camps insist the move is amicable and workload-driven. Cullen, who re-joined Hamilton in January after two seasons in IndyCar with Marcus Armstrong, is said to be launching a human-performance consultancy headquartered in New Zealand, allowing her to pick selected events.
Ferrari sources indicate Hamilton pushed for the change as he grows comfortable with the Scuderia’s in-house sports-science division in Maranello. Team boss Frédéric Vasseur publicly stressed that “nothing prevents Angela returning for Monaco or Monza if Lewis asks”—a nod to a clause in Hamilton’s contract that requires outside staff to be on ad-hoc rather than permanent retainers. Meanwhile, Cullen posted on Instagram, “Chapter closed, but the story never ends,” alongside a photo of her trademark electric scooter parked beside a freight container marked “Ferrari.”
Performance implications are hard to judge. Hamilton’s fourth place at Imola was built on strategic nerve and outright pace, suggesting the driver–team relationship is bedding in. Yet the Briton has previously credited Cullen’s meticulous pre-session warm-ups for sharpening his qualifying edge—vital at Monaco next weekend where grid position is king. Rival pundits note that when Cullen first stepped away in early 2023 Hamilton’s Saturdays briefly faltered. Whether Ferrari’s own trainers can replicate her almost ritualistic routines will be closely watched during the looming triple-header of Monaco, Barcelona and Montréal. For now, both parties frame the separation as an evolution, not a break-up—“like family taking different flights,” as Hamilton put it in the post-race media pen.
