Off-Track: Fast on Circuit, Fast on Road

Michael Schumacher and Lewis Hamilton made headlines lately with their F1-style performances off the circuit - and both ran into trouble with the law for their acts.

Seven-time world champion Michael Schumacher, who had won the Race of the Champions for Team Germany with Sebastian Vettel, was in a rush to get to the airport or risk missing a family flight back to Switzerland. He decided to put his F1 skills to use when he took over the driver seat from the taxi driver Tuncer Yilmaz. Pushing the Opel Vivaro to its top speed of 163kmh, the taxi driver was in awe with the German racer and commented that Schumacher "overtook in some unbelievable places".

While the cabbie got a healthy sum as tips for letting Schumacher get to the airport more than in time for the flight, both Schumacher and him could be in trouble with the law as investigations are now underway.

Lewis Hamilton, on the other hand, had mistaken the motorway near the northern town of Laon for the Magny Cours circuit when he took his Mercedes (the road one, not the F1 car) to a speed of 196kmh and was caught by the French police. He was subsequently banned for driving in France for a month, had his Mercedes detained and himself poorer by 600 euros. If anything good came out of this incident, he got himself free publicity and the French police commended the young driver for being cooperative and very polite.