The invention relates to a method for processing at least one data packet (78, 156) which comprises a first header (82, 158) and a payload (100, 160), wherein the first header (82, 158) is processed by a first mode and the payload (100, 160) is processed by a second mode, wherein a number of processing steps (172, 174) for carrying out the second mode is greater than a number of processing steps (168, 170) for carrying out the first mode, the two modes being performed separately from one another.