Hamilton is no party animal, says physio Angela Cullen

Lewis Hamilton's physiotherapist , Angela Cullen, says that the triple world champion's reputation as an unrepentant  party-goer is totally unjustified.

The Kiwi, who sees herself more as a performance coach than a physio, obviously enjoys a privileged relationship with the Mercedes driver, and one which provides her with much insight into his life.

Cullen dismisses the critics who regularly slam Hamilton for his jet-set lifestyle between races, pointing instead to the F1 driver's undeniable dedication.

"I have spent the whole year with him and we partied maybe four times," Cullen said.

"He is not a party boy. If he has a three-week recovery between races he might have a drink to celebrate a race win, but if there is a race meeting the next week, he won’t drink at all.

"He occasionally does crazy things but no more than any normal person. He is the most amazingly talented and dedicated athlete."

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Cullen, who works for Hintasa Performance based in Switzerland, helped design the driver's NASA-based health programme, which includes a sleep doctor to combat jet lag.

"Over the course of a race weekend, my job is to eliminate any external factors so he only has to think about his driving and not have to worry about anything else.

"I wake him up, I order his food, I drive him to the track."

Cullen, who started working with Hamilton at the beginning of the 2016 season, insists on the F1 star's  appreciation of her work and the sense of motivation he instills.

"There is not a day or a race where I leave and don’t get a text thanking me for what I do.

"I’m not someone who would just do the job because it is exciting. I need to be working for someone I really want to help — and he really does instill that in me."

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