Angela Cullen and Lewis go their separate ways
Discussion
RacerMike said:
Didn't say Max isn't a narcissist. There almost certainly will be elements of narcissism or some other personality disorder present as there are in many highly successful Sportsmen and women. It's usually what gives them the single mindedness they need to win. All I can comment on though is that, to work with, compared to Lewis, he's a lot more personable and genuine. Again, it's fine that Lewis isn't this....it's just why there are a few of us who have gone off him the more we've learned about him.
Biggest issue in the F1 fan community now is the rabid tribalism. People can't seem to accept that others have reasons for not liking the driver they support. You see it on all sides! It was clearly present already to an extent in the Hill/Schumacher era, but I think social media has done a great job of galvanising people against one another. However....anything the TeamLH types say is not going to change my mind on him. I can respect him for being a great driver and for what he's achieved. I can't however agree that he is some persecuted saint who never does anything wrong and is entirely blameless in every scenario.
And to try and get back on topic, I think most of the evidence points to him handing Angela her P45 without much planning or discussion, and clearly she doesn't want to undermine him/look like the bad guy, so she's been sensible and not said anything negative in her statement. The reasons behind Lewis getting rid of her are unknown, but I suspect it's similar to when he 'fired' his Dad. He's not doing well, so the people closest to him are the first to feel the anger/frustration and are the first to go.
Most evidence - there is zero evidence out there. The only pieces we know are the few media statements which could be real or just PR fluff. You’re just speculating, there is no evidence. If so then show it, I’m happy to reconsider. The only stuff you have mentioned is your diagnosis that he is a narcissist and so this then helps prove it. An alternative of her planning to leave but sticking around as Lewis is desperate to keep her if he had a chance at number 8 this season is another possible option, with Lewis releasing her after that was clearly not the case. There’s no evidence for one over the other. Biggest issue in the F1 fan community now is the rabid tribalism. People can't seem to accept that others have reasons for not liking the driver they support. You see it on all sides! It was clearly present already to an extent in the Hill/Schumacher era, but I think social media has done a great job of galvanising people against one another. However....anything the TeamLH types say is not going to change my mind on him. I can respect him for being a great driver and for what he's achieved. I can't however agree that he is some persecuted saint who never does anything wrong and is entirely blameless in every scenario.
And to try and get back on topic, I think most of the evidence points to him handing Angela her P45 without much planning or discussion, and clearly she doesn't want to undermine him/look like the bad guy, so she's been sensible and not said anything negative in her statement. The reasons behind Lewis getting rid of her are unknown, but I suspect it's similar to when he 'fired' his Dad. He's not doing well, so the people closest to him are the first to feel the anger/frustration and are the first to go.
Edited by RacerMike on Monday 20th March 09:49
You’re ascribing lots of fan behaviours presumably to me too, when I’ve not said anything about Hamilton not being a narcissist. I’ve only said your diagnosis he is likely one seems to be based on a lot stuff you have no real clue about. We don’t know a lot of the real behaviour behind most of the drivers, a few snippets here and there won’t make an amateur psychologist be able to diagnosis something like that.
If any of the top drivers are one I’d probably hazard a guess at Alonso most of all, given his repeated falling out with pretty much every team. But again, I have nowhere near enough evidence to say if that is likely.
RacerMike said:
I think most of the evidence points to him handing Angela her P45 without much planning or discussion, and clearly she doesn't want to undermine him/look like the bad guy, so she's been sensible and not said anything negative in her statement. The reasons behind Lewis getting rid of her are unknown, but I suspect it's similar to when he 'fired' his Dad. He's not doing well, so the people closest to him are the first to feel the anger/frustration and are the first to go.
Stone me...He had a trainer. Her contract expired. He decided to get a different trainer.
She's not his wife. Not his muse. Not his sister or his twin. She's an employee who he has decided to part ways with, by all accounts, very amicably.
The level of internet-sleuthery and theories about such trivial matters boggles the mind.
LH is a fantastic individual and has a spiritual like persona about him. But he is an “everybody” person rather than an intimate, loyal and forever friend. In my view he sees himself as on a mission, a messiah even, but no one knows the real LH, there’s too much flow, aloofness, me vs the world and a feeling that he has a burden in life.
For example, people that he has previously worked for in a team do not speak glowingly of him. McLaren always baffles me - he’s their last WDC but they don’t appear to celebrate him like they do Senna, Prost, Alonso, Hakk and others. Even his time at ART, despite winning the title, he’s not viewed by any as a friend.
He’s dumped his Asian gf, Nicole, Sutil, McLaren.
When he leaves the sport I’m not sure any within it will miss him. He’s not popular even though the fans that only catch glimpses of him, love him. Who knows him better, those that work with him or those that see him fleetingly?
For example, people that he has previously worked for in a team do not speak glowingly of him. McLaren always baffles me - he’s their last WDC but they don’t appear to celebrate him like they do Senna, Prost, Alonso, Hakk and others. Even his time at ART, despite winning the title, he’s not viewed by any as a friend.
He’s dumped his Asian gf, Nicole, Sutil, McLaren.
When he leaves the sport I’m not sure any within it will miss him. He’s not popular even though the fans that only catch glimpses of him, love him. Who knows him better, those that work with him or those that see him fleetingly?
Dashnine said:
HustleRussell said:
Bet most of the people here can't name a single other driver's trainer. The level of people's obsession is out of control.
Mikey Muscles. Don't know why that stuck in my head, other than being a JB fan. Obsessive, perhaps...maz8062 said:
For example, people that he has previously worked for in a team do not speak glowingly of him. McLaren always baffles me - he’s their last WDC but they don’t appear to celebrate him like they do Senna, Prost, Alonso, Hakk and others. Even his time at ART, despite winning the title, he’s not viewed by any as a friend.
This is simply inaccurate. Matt Bishop, for example, worked with Hamilton at McLaren long-term and continues to speak glowingly of him to this day. So do the various race engineers and senior team figures with whom he has worked, at McLaren, ART, and back to his time in the lower formulae.maz8062 said:
He’s dumped his Asian gf, Nicole, Sutil, McLaren.
This is one of the strangest sentences I've ever seen.paulguitar said:
maz8062 said:
For example, people that he has previously worked for in a team do not speak glowingly of him. McLaren always baffles me - he’s their last WDC but they don’t appear to celebrate him like they do Senna, Prost, Alonso, Hakk and others. Even his time at ART, despite winning the title, he’s not viewed by any as a friend.
This is simply inaccurate. Matt Bishop, for example, worked with Hamilton at McLaren long-term and continues to speak glowingly of him to this day. So do the various race engineers and senior team figures with whom he has worked, at McLaren, ART, and back to his time in the lower formulae.maz8062 said:
He’s dumped his Asian gf, Nicole, Sutil, McLaren.
This is one of the strangest sentences I've ever seen.RacerMike said:
Right. So I have one degree of separation from him and have heard some less favourable feedback and that’s rubbish. You don’t know him at all and are making purely speculative ‘I’ve heard that’ and ‘from what people have said’ comments and that’s the correct opinion? Ok!
Jesus Christ. 
I've said that people who have known him very well for years have a very high opinion of him.Your position on Hamilton is clear, you've made it many, many times. It's a mystery why you would take the (presumably) considerable time to copy and paste personality characteristics from a psychology website in an effort to make a bizarre diagnosis about someone you have never met. I think some quiet reflection time for you would be a good idea.
HustleRussell said:
Bet most of the people here can't name a single other driver's trainer. The level of people's obsession is out of control.
Mostly as their trainers are normally far more back stage, and not carrying scooters, dogs, hair bands and umbrellas up and down the pitlane and paddock all weekend. The AC role was far more than simply "trainer".maz8062 said:
McLaren always baffles me - he’s their last WDC but they don’t appear to celebrate him like they do Senna, Prost, Alonso, Hakk and others. Even his time at ART, despite winning the title, he’s not viewed by any as a friend.
Did you think that might just be because he's still an active F1 driver, employed by another team?Hamilton's achievements will only be truly recognised once he retires.
As for McLaren celebrating Alonso......celebrating what? Screwing the team over in stint one and then slating the engine and competitiveness in stint two?
maz8062 said:
He’s dumped his Asian gf, Nicole, Sutil, McLaren.
He's been in the sport since he was 22. You think he should have stayed with the same woman and team all that time? Retained all of the same friends?
Do you still have all the same friends, same employer and same girlfriend from when you were 22? I don't. Does that make me a narcissist?
maz8062 said:
When he leaves the sport I’m not sure any within it will miss him. He’s not popular even though the fans that only catch glimpses of him, love him.
I'm fairly balanced in my Lewis viewpoint but the search for something that isn't there is mind-boggling. He's just a bloke who drives a car for a living. That bloke has had relationships come and go, friends come and go, he has matured, made mistakes, achieved masses and probably rubbed some people up the wrong way on route. Show me anyone who achieved anything who hasn't experienced those things.
Muzzer79 said:
I'm fairly balanced in my Lewis viewpoint but the search for something that isn't there is mind-boggling. He's just a bloke who drives a car for a living. That bloke has had relationships come and go, friends come and go, he has matured, made mistakes, achieved masses and probably rubbed some people up the wrong way on route. Show me anyone who achieved anything who hasn't experienced those things.
That sums it up very sensibly.DOCG said:
pablo said:
That you had to even ask says a lot more about you than it does Lewis…… I’ll bet you only asked to use it as an opportunity to include that little dig. In your tiny mind, I guess you “won”…
So was it photoshopped or not?Look, I’m a fan of LH, always have been, but there is something a tad odd about the chap. Senna was odd too, Schumacher as well, perhaps it’s a prerequisite for greatness; arrogance, standoffish etc.
The Lenny dropped for me when I tried listening to a Jay Shetty podcast that featured LH. He trotted out the “from a poor background, dad worked 4 jobs, I was bullied, the other kids hated me, my headmaster was a dick, my teachers said I wouldn’t amount to anything” then he moved don to how he’d change the world, injustice, diversity, inclusion etc. I stopped listening because I felt that we weren’t scratching the surface on who the real LH is.
I’ll get lambasted for this, but I believe that there is something that he is hiding within himself. In time the real LH will stand up. Do I care? Not a sausage.
The Lenny dropped for me when I tried listening to a Jay Shetty podcast that featured LH. He trotted out the “from a poor background, dad worked 4 jobs, I was bullied, the other kids hated me, my headmaster was a dick, my teachers said I wouldn’t amount to anything” then he moved don to how he’d change the world, injustice, diversity, inclusion etc. I stopped listening because I felt that we weren’t scratching the surface on who the real LH is.
I’ll get lambasted for this, but I believe that there is something that he is hiding within himself. In time the real LH will stand up. Do I care? Not a sausage.
paulguitar said:
Byker28i said:
paulguitar said:
So you haven't met him. There are many, many others who tell a very different story. People who actually know him well, and have done for years, like matt Bishop.
My Cousin, was on the away race team for years, now works in the factory. Hasn't a bad word to say about him, in fact comments that Lewis still remembers his name when they meet/pass at the factory.On the basis of that fact I conclude that there is no doubt he is a narcissist.
Meanwhile i heard that after the race yesterday, max verstappen gave free driving lessons to women until midnight and then after that he personally desalinated 10,000L of drinking water for the migrant workers who put the track together, and has paid for each of them to get a chauffer driven ride home, including a free can of red bull.
In fact - I’m sorry, I can’t reveal my sources - I have it on good authority (nobody higher available in the organisation concerned) that Max Verstappen will be met by the pope and beatified at the Imola GP.
In his sainthood, Max will adopt the flag of St Alban, because like St Alban - who was an early Christian in roman Britain - Max has faced cruel persecution. The FIA F1 regulations contain a little known regulation that whenever a competitor is approach by a car driven by a saint, they are obliged to let the car past after passing three waved flags. The Marshalls will be issued with flags of St Alban to wave for this purpose.
Edited by GiantCardboardPlato on Monday 20th March 14:55
PhilAsia said:
Hilarious reading. Carry on...
Ah. Nothing like a good old straw man.It’s frustrating that every single thing that is discussed about Lewis or anything to do with him gets completely shouted down. Absolutely no one is prepared to just have a sensible discussion about things without getting tribal.
I have always been a Hamilton fan and resent the negativity that is shovelled in his direction.
However I do think that he is at a difficult point in his career, having gone from unquestionable dominance to a robbery in 2021 and now being faced with a non front running car for the second year in a row, alongside a hugely talented teammate.
It feels as though he almost is at a crossroads, sit back, finish his contract and leave the sport 5% tainted but with a great legacy and just focus on his other interests mission 44 etc. Alternatively, double down on the focus, shake things up, change trainer, get a bit pushy with the team and almost go back to the early years fighting for everything.
Essentially is he going to end his career following the Alonso path fighting for everything or step back and walk away.
Personally I hope he doubles down, F1 is healthier with Hamilton at his best!
However I do think that he is at a difficult point in his career, having gone from unquestionable dominance to a robbery in 2021 and now being faced with a non front running car for the second year in a row, alongside a hugely talented teammate.
It feels as though he almost is at a crossroads, sit back, finish his contract and leave the sport 5% tainted but with a great legacy and just focus on his other interests mission 44 etc. Alternatively, double down on the focus, shake things up, change trainer, get a bit pushy with the team and almost go back to the early years fighting for everything.
Essentially is he going to end his career following the Alonso path fighting for everything or step back and walk away.
Personally I hope he doubles down, F1 is healthier with Hamilton at his best!
RacerMike said:
Ah. Nothing like a good old straw man.
It’s frustrating that every single thing that is discussed about Lewis or anything to do with him gets completely shouted down. Absolutely no one is prepared to just have a sensible discussion about things without getting tribal.
Why don’t you try basing your posts on publicly confirmable facts and observations and use those to draw your conclusions, rather than a mixture of ‘i know a guy who…’ and reasoning-from-assumption? You’re viewing the ‘shouting down’ as people taking issue with your position, your conclusions, and trying to ostracise you. But I would say they (we) are taking an issue with the quality of your arguments and the lack of substantiation of your conclusions. It’s frustrating that every single thing that is discussed about Lewis or anything to do with him gets completely shouted down. Absolutely no one is prepared to just have a sensible discussion about things without getting tribal.
RacerMike said:
Ah. Nothing like a good old straw man.
It’s frustrating that every single thing that is discussed about Lewis or anything to do with him gets completely shouted down. Absolutely no one is prepared to just have a sensible discussion about things without getting tribal.
Last night you spent a large amount of time trying to portray him, without any qualifications to do so, as suffering from a personality disorder.It’s frustrating that every single thing that is discussed about Lewis or anything to do with him gets completely shouted down. Absolutely no one is prepared to just have a sensible discussion about things without getting tribal.
If you talk s
t, prepare to be 'shouted down'.paulguitar said:
RacerMike said:
Ah. Nothing like a good old straw man.
It’s frustrating that every single thing that is discussed about Lewis or anything to do with him gets completely shouted down. Absolutely no one is prepared to just have a sensible discussion about things without getting tribal.
Last night you spent a large amount of time trying to portray him, without any qualifications to do so, as suffering from a personality disorder.It’s frustrating that every single thing that is discussed about Lewis or anything to do with him gets completely shouted down. Absolutely no one is prepared to just have a sensible discussion about things without getting tribal.
If you talk s
t, prepare to be 'shouted down'.Whichever way I discuss this, you’ll come up with yet another reason why I can’t/shouldn’t.
And to say someone is narcissistic isn’t specifically some sort of slight.
The fact is, I, and a good number of people find him difficult to like because he doesn’t come across well to us. The same reasons why people don’t like Max or Fernando.
Gassing Station | Formula 1 | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff