Lewis Hamilton’s former trainer Angela Cullen has revealed that when the seven-time World Champion’s hands “are dancing”, then the Mercedes star is “in the zone”, something she shared ahead of qualifying at the Australian Grand Prix.
Hamilton enjoyed his best qualifying of the season at the Albert Park Circuit last Saturday, with the British driver having qualified third on the grid.
He converted his third-place start into a second place finish, securing his and Mercedes’ first podium of the 2023 F1 season.
It was certainly an excellent weekend for the 38-year-old, highlighting the emphasis on how important it is to qualify well.
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Ahead of qualifying, Cullen shared what it takes for a qualifying session to be “perfect”, with the New Zealander clearly still keeping a close eye on the 103-time race winner.
“It’s Qual. My favourite time of an entire race weekend,” she posted on social media.
“Looking for that perfect single lap, car set up meets precision driving,
“The perfect quali is where you build each lap, learn from the previous, implement and profit in the following. [I] just love the focus and attention.
“Watch for Lewis’ hands when he is sitting in the car in the garage, if they are dancing you know he is in the zone. Let’s go ..
“You can have a perfect quali as a driver regardless of end position, that is the goal.”
Hamilton actually spoke about Cullen ahead of the weekend in Melbourne, with his and Cullen’s split in Saudi Arabia having come as a huge surprise.
The duo worked together for seven years and built an incredible friendship, with Hamilton having joked that himself and Cullen are “stuck with each other”.
“It’s an incredibly challenging role I think for anyone in those positions,” Hamilton told Sky Sports F1.
“It is a lot of travelling and a lot of time away from your family and you grow incredibly close together.
“If you’re at dinner, during your weekends and while you’re travelling, it’s usually you, your trainer or physio, your family or whatever it may be, it’s incredibly intimate in that sense. And you become great friends.
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“Angela is living her life right now. She’s got so many great ideas of things she wants to do.
“We talk and message pretty much every day. We’re still going to go skydiving together and we’re always going to be in each other’s lives. We’re stuck with each other, unfortunately or fortunately!
“We’ve been through thick and thin so I’m grateful our relationship is as good as it is and I think we’ve probably had one of the longest relationships in the sport, so incredibly grateful for her and I love her dearly.”