When Nico Rosberg stunned reporters by revealing his trick to keep sweat out of his eyes

Ferrari driver Lewis Hamilton's ex-rival Nico Rosberg once shocked reporters after he revealed that he used sanitary towels in his helmet to keep the sweat out of his eyes. The German driver went hammer and tongs against his ex-teammate at Mercedes for four years before eventually retiring at the end of the 2016 season.

The 39-year-old took Hamilton to the wire in two of three years in the Turbo-Hybrid era and eventually succeeded in 2016 to win his one and only championship. Rosberg was famous for using every bit of information and skill in his arsenal to stay on the same level as his teammate and came out with innovative methods.

Speaking with Sky Sports, during the 2015 Malaysian GP, Rosberg spoke about his unique trick to keep the sweat out of his eyes during the hot conditions at the Sepang International Circuit. He said:

"I have an issue with my eye when I sweat a lot so that is what the headband is for. Actually I do have sort of a headband in my helmet, it is my trick, but I can tell you. I put a woman's... erm... what do you call them? The thing you put in your underwear."

To which the journalist, Craig Slater, inquired:

"Tights?"

Nico Rosberg clarified:

"No, inside the underwear. Sanitary towel - I put that on my forehead in my helmet to take up the sweat."

The trick however did not help in the result as Nico Rosberg finished P3 behind Lewis Hamilton and the eventual winner Sebastian Vettel.

Nico Rosberg comments on Lewis Hamilton's switch to Ferrari

Former F1 world champion Nico Rosberg sympathized with his ex-teammate Lewis Hamilton's struggles in the 2024 season when the latter struggled for one-lap pace against George Russell in Mercedes.

While appearing on the Sky Sports F1 podcast, the 2016 world champion spoke about the task at Ferrari for Hamilton and said:

“He has two years at Ferrari, and he will 100% be very, very worried. And what if this form of mine continues to Ferrari?’ If it does, it would really be quite a painful adventure, I would say because that’s not what Ferrari hired him for.

"Ferrari hired him to be on a level with Leclerc and fight for World Championships. So I think he will be very worried about that, and we can only hope that he finds back to his good old self with a reset at Ferrari and is, once again, the brilliant driver we know.”

Lewis Hamilton has signed a multi-year deal with the Italian team that will see him race for them until the end of the 2026 season with an option to extend for a further year.