Mercedes physio Angela Cullen paid the price for betting against Lewis Hamilton during the Canadian GP 2022
Lewis Hamilton gleefully launched Mercedes physiotherapist Angela Cullen into a river after she promised to take the plunge had he been able to secure a podium finish at the Canadian Grand Prix. Hamilton, who has previously described his friendship with Cullen as one of the greatest things in his life, finished third behind Max Verstappen and Carlos Sainz on Sunday in Montreal.
Mercedes F1 team shared the light-hearted video on their social media channels – “Get in there, Ang! Angela said if Lewis Hamilton finished on the podium she’d jump into the river. She just needed a push.”
With other members of the team laughing, Angela said – “It’s really cold! I did say I was going to do it though.”
Lewis Hamilton says his podium at the Canadian Grand Prix has given him hope that Mercedes can return to competitiveness this year. “It has given me a lot of hope there is more to come from this car, that the potential is truly there if we can get the set-up right,” Hamilton said.
Hamilton himself is confident that Mercedes will gradually close the gap on the two leading teams, Red Bull and Ferrari. “They’re a little bit too quick for us at the moment. I was giving it everything but we’re getting closer. So we’ve just got to keep pushing. Hopefully will be in a fight with these guys“, the 7-time F1 champion said.
Hamilton finished only seven seconds behind race-winner Max Verstappen, as the Red Bull driver held off a late charge from Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz, and there were times during the race when he was matching the leaders’ lap times. That’s definitely a positive sign for the Brit and the time gap is certainly manageable in the upcoming races.
Formula One heads to Silverstone next for the British Grand Prix on July 3, where Hamilton has the most wins with eight.
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