Schumacher denies kart race hobby too dangerous

Michael Schumacher has denied that his ongoing hobby of semi-professional kart racing is an unnecessary risk.

Many F1 driver contracts forbid dangerous extra-curricular activities, but last weekend seven time world champion Schumacher was back at the wheel of a competitive kart.

On the free weekend between the Monaco and Turkish grands prix, the 41-year-old German finished second in two DMV championship races at the Oppenrod circuit.

To Germany’s Auto Motor und Sport, the highly-paid Mercedes driver played down suggestions he is risking injury by keeping up his hobby of kart racing.

"There are a few sports that are more dangerous than formula one," he said, "but karting I would consider more on the safe side."

Schumacher admitted that he contests kart races for "fun" but also argues that the discipline is good practice for his day-job.

"The fun aspect is the most important. That’s really the only reason I do it," said the German.

"What you learn here is not much help (for F1)," he admitted, "but you can do quite a lot of overtaking."