F1 champion shares sleep trick that eliminated jet lag

Max Verstappen, Lewis Hamilton, Nico Rosberg, Silverstone, 2016, generic — Photo: © IMAGO

F1 Legends

F1 champion shares sleep trick that eliminated jet lag

Nico Rosberg retired from F1 in 2016

By Sam Cook.

Sunday 19 April 2026 18:00

Nico Rosberg has opened up about the approach he used during his career to minimize jet lag and stay sharp across demanding race weekends.

The German went head-to-head with Lewis Hamilton in three intense title battles between 2014 and 2016 while both were driving for Mercedes.

After finishing runner-up in 2014 and 2015, Rosberg finally came out on top in 2016, securing the world championship before making the surprise decision to retire later that year at the age of 30.

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Rosberg is now a broadcaster and businessman, but has revealed that he continues to use the sleep hacks he learned from his F1 days during his current ventures.

The 40-year-old took to LinkedIn to talk about 'biohacking', a term that is being used on social media to describe lifestyle self-improvement.

"I was biohacking before it had a name," Rosberg revealed in a post on LinkedIn. "Back then, it was just called 'trying to survive Formula 1'.

"For me, the best 'biohacks' are still the basics. When I was racing, jet lag used to destroy me.

"So I went all in and worked with a Harvard sleep professor who taught me strategies to have basically zero jet lag. The tricks were simple but super disciplined: one-and-a-half hours maximum of time shift per day, and then blackout glasses in the evening two hours before needing to go to sleep and then light exposure in the mornings etc.

"Because I currently travel a lot to the US for Rosberg Ventures meetings, I noticed the same problem creeping back in. And when you’re jet-lagged, you don’t just feel tired, you’re not as sharp.

"So I’ve been using some of the tricks I learnt back then, and I’m happy to report that I’ve got zero jet lag and my sleep is better than ever."

Rosberg then went on to explain how his nutrition choices, meditation and music playlists also helped him to stay on top of his game.

Hamilton and Rosberg's fiery relationship

Having spent many years together in junior racing categories, Hamilton and Rosberg were good friends when they became Mercedes team-mates in 2013.

But this relationship did break down somewhat during their three title battles, with Rosberg famously throwing a cap at Hamilton at the 2016 United States Grand Prix.

That same season, the pair also crashed into each other at the Spanish GP, something which Toto Wolff has recently admitted led to him temporarily 'firing' the pair to teach them to respect the team more.

Hamilton and Rosberg's relationship remained frayed for a while, but German legend Rosberg revealed a few years ago that they had made up and were friends again.

F1 Mercedes Nico Rosberg