Lewis Hamilton insists he and Angela Cullen remain “super close” despite the New Zealander no longer working with the seven-time F1 champion as his performance coach.

Mercedes driver Hamilton and Cullen jointly announced the move via separate Instagram posts this week, with their messages of support to one another suggesting there was no acrimony behind their decision.

The agreement still came as a surprise given its suddenness as Cullen was engaged in her usual role alongside Hamilton at the season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix a fortnight ago.

“Me and Ange are good,” said Hamilton, when asked as to the reason behind the move. “She’s moved on to a different phase in her life.

“We’re still super close, she’s texting every day. She’s massively supportive and I’m massively supportive of her.

“I’m so grateful to have had her with me on this journey. She’s one of my closest friends and she continues to be.”

Cullen to do something new

The implication from Hamilton is that after seven years together, with Cullen not only serving as the 38-year-old’s performance coach but also his aide and confidante, she has decided to take stock of her life and do something new.

At a difficult time in Hamilton’s career, with the British driver struggling for confidence with this season’s Mercedes W14, he now has to find another physio to work with, as well as negotiate a new deal with the team or decide to move on.

Team principal Toto Wolff suggested a reason for the split was that in developing as a person,  Cullen had simply decided that the relationship with Hamilton was no longer working out, and so decided to “bring change”.

Cullen is a former New Zealand international hockey player, and has previously worked at the English Institute of Sport in London as a senior physiotherapist, supporting the British Olympics team and UK Athletics.

She joined Hintsa Performance in 2015, a company founded by former McLaren doctor Aki Hintsa, before then partnering with Hamilton the following year.