It was one of those rare cases of a cabbie being rendered speechless. Without a change of tyres or a single pit-stop, Tuncer Yilmaz, a Turkish-German taxi driver, raced to the airport at record speed.

He cannot claim the credit though. Michael Schumacher, seven-times Formula One champion, irritated with the cabbie's driving, took the wheel and gave Mr Yilmaz the most hairraising fare of his life. “The way he shifts gear, the way he overtakes and goes into corners — it's just not normal,” a clearly rattled Mr Yilmaz said.

Schumacher had flown with his wife, Corinna, two children and bodyguard from his Swiss estate to the Bavarian village of Gesülz to pick up a newly acquired puppy from a German dog breeder. The visit took longer than expected and the retired motoring ace was running late. He had to drop off his family in Switzerland and then continue in his private jet to Milan for a meeting with Ferrari executives that evening.

Could Mr Yilmaz be trusted to drive his Opel Vivaro minibus with the necessary verve? On the way to the breeder Mr Yilmaz had been so sweaty-palmed about having Schumacher as a passenger that he had driven, by his own admission, like an amateur. Schumacher was taking no chances on the return journey. “Slide over,” he told the cabbie before putting his own foot on the pedal.

The German champion gave Mr Yilmaz a €100 euro tip for the 30km trip but the cabbie clearly hopes to attract further fares from the worldwide Schumacher fan club. He has vowed never to clean the inside of his cab again and regrets that they weren't caught by police cameras to record the moment. He will not even be able to recount the episode using the traditional taxi-driver's boast — “I had that Michael Schumacher in the back of my cab once”.

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