It has emerged that Formula one veteran Michael Schumacher has to fight off illness resulting from preparation in the simulator.

The German 42-year-old is currently battling sickness after his time in the Mercedes simulator. However, though he is susceptible to simulator sickness, Mercedes has assured that his shoddy performance in 2010, when he was beaten by his Mercedes teammate Nico Rosberg in most races, has nothing to do with less time spent in the sim.

Mercedes said in a statement, Throughout his career, Michael from time to time has been susceptible to simulator sickness. It hasn't adversely affected Michael's race preparation or competitiveness with regard to his team-mate.

Simulator sickness has affected the length of time that he can spend on a simulator. This is a relatively common occurrence for many people in all fields of simulator activity including military, aircraft and racing cars.

The simulator is one of a number of tools which drivers use to prepare for the race weekend. Michael has not been disadvantaged as together with his engineers he has made his simulation work effective.

The situation has been exacerbated by the level of our current simulator technology. For many reasons, we have invested in higher quality and more realistic simulation equipment which will be completed and available for our drivers shortly.

However, the new simulator will not be operational until the 2012 season.

When in 2009 the FIA reduced the testing allowance, teams resorted to simulators to prepare drivers for Raceday, allowing them to accustom themselves to a replica cockpit, driving conditions, circuits, tyre behavior etc.

Schumacher's performance in 2010 seems to suggest that he is struggling to readjust with present conditions, especially after Mercedes dispelled claims saying his susceptibility to simulator sickness decreased his chances of recapturing his best form.

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