Grapevine: Keeping Fit is Vital, Says Schumacher

German Formula One champion Michael Schumacher said on Wednesday that keeping fit was vital in motor racing as keeping his weight down meant a faster car.

"Racing cars are allowed to weigh 600 kilos together with their drivers. So the lighter I am, the more ballast my mechanics can attach to the car. That's definitely an advantage," Schumacher told Bild newspaper.

The 10-cylinder engine in the latest car that Ferrari have custom-built around Schumacher for the 2001 season, which starts in Australia on Sunday, weighs only 94 kilos and took 200 experts to construct.

Schumacher said he kept his weight between 70 and 71 kilos by a mixture of sport and diet.

"I go mountain climbing and do boxing -- that's not as boring as jogging or weights," he said.

"Driving makes you hungry," he said. But he added that he always paid attention to the amount of fat he consumed.

"When I'm eating meat I cut off every bit of visible fat. It's enough just to imagine that this fat I'm eating would attach itself to my body," he said.

Schumacher said playing soccer also helped him develop his lower body, something which appeals to the Formula One pilot who admits to being "a bit vain".

"Since I've started playing football my legs and backside have got more powerful," he said.

The 32-year-old told Bild how he met Rambo actor and fellow fitness fanatic Sylvester Stallone in the fitness studio of a New York hotel but that he favoured a leaner look.

"Of course he's broader than me, a real body builder. But it's not my aim to look like that."