The World Economic Forum is taking place in Davos, the event is attended by around 2,500 delegates, who mainly consist of world leaders and business people. Doesn’t seem like the first place you would expect to find two-time Formula One World Champion, Mika Hakkinen however, does it?

It took the Finn seven years competing in Formula One to win his first Grand Prix in Jerez, at the 1997 European Grand Prix, he went on to take the Drivers World Championships in 1998 and 1999. 

 In this BBC News Article by Emily Young, he credits his success, at least in part, to doctor and mentor, Aki Hintsa. He spoke at the forum about the role Dr Hintsa played in helping him sharpen his focus – suggesting that his concerns off the track, were affecting his potential. It is this ‘extra edge’ that interests the delegates though – how can they perform consistently better than their rivals?

“Operating three nights in a row on just five hours’ sleep is equivalent to driving a car drunk”

Dr Hintsa’s message, along with Mika and four time champion Sebastian Vettel, seems to be simple advice to follow – you can not function to your full potential without a good night’s sleep. The other messages, including avoiding alcohol and smartphones/computers before bed, are nothing new – but it’s surprising how few of us actually act on this advice.

Really, the message here is about looking after the whole, all parts of your life to perform better. Not just about working harder, but achieving better in the same amount of time.

Here we see top athletes advising business and world leaders on how to achieve their potential, this isn’t the only aspect of motorsport that can carry across in to the wider world though; technology, marketing, business processes can all feed across too. The skills that motorsport encourages are extremely transferable to the business world.