Michael Schumacher has been caught speeding on a highway near his German hometown of Kerpen, according to reports in Italy and Germany.

The retired seven time world champion was fined 75 euros and docked 3 points on his driving license, the Italian sports daily La Gazzetta dello Sport said.

Schumacher, 39 and still a Ferrari advisor and occasional test driver, was at the wheel of an Audi Cabriolet, but the precise speed of his infraction is not known.

Police, however, confirmed that he was stopped for speeding in a 100kmh zone. German media reports suggest he was caught at 140kmh.

La Gazzetta dello Sport reports that Schumacher would automatically have lost his license if his offence was in excess of 146kmh.

"I'm really sorry, it is out of character for me. Speeding is for the race tracks only," he is quoted as saying by the German newspaper Bild.

Source: GMM