Sebastien Buemi of Switzerland poses for photographers beside Formula One machine of Red Bull Racing after his demonstration run in Motomachi shopping street in Yokohama, suburban Tokyo, on June 5, 2011. (Photo: Getty Images)

Buemi Not Commenting After Hitting Man With F1 Car: Sebastien Buemi has emerged from a terrifying incident during a Formula One demonstration drive in Japan. The Swiss driver was at the wheel of a recent Red Bull single seater in Chiba, Japan, when a member of the event's staff ran in front of him. 22-year-old Buemi, who had just performed some donuts at the event to raise money for earthquake victims, headed off for another demonstration run when the Japanese marshal ran down a steep embankment at the side of the road. Realizing he was about to be struck, the man - wearing a shirt marked 'staff' and carrying a clipboard - jumped over the front wing and also cleared the cockpit but was struck by the rear of Buemi's car at about 50kph. He was shaken but basically unhurt and walking immediately afterwards, while the Toro Rosso driver also escaped injury. "I can't say anything about it until Red Bull has clarified the matter," Buemi told the Swiss newspaper Blick in Tokyo.

Report - Spa To Alternate F1 Race With French GP Return?: Spa-Francorchamps could be the key to France's return to the Formula One calendar. The French Le Journal Du Dimanche newspaper reports the possibility of the famous Belgian race alternating annually with a circuit in France. "I've been asked about it earlier this year by French officials," admitted Belgian GP promoter Andre Maes. "This may be interesting, so I am waiting for further news," he said. The Belgian GP has admitted to worrying about being priced out of F1 due to rising race sanctioning fees. French Grand Prix host Magny-Cours dropped off the calendar after the 2008 season due to "economic problems".

Report - Ferrari's Dyer Eyes Return To Australia: Chris Dyer could be set to return to Australia to continue his motor racing career. After serving as Michael Schumacher and Kimi Raikkonen's championship-winning race engineer at Ferrari, he was promoted by the famous Italian team to the role of head of engineering. But Dyer, 42, was shunted aside to the road car division at Maranello after bungling Fernando Alonso's race strategy in Abu Dhabi last year that cost the Spaniard the 2010 title. According to News Limited press reports in Australia, Dyer could now return to his native country to take up a leading role with the V8 Supercar team Holden Racing Team.

Mercedes Loudest F1 Car In 2011: The Mercedes is the loudest Formula One car in 2011. That is the finding of the German newspaper Bild am Sonntag, after testing the volume of this year's field trackside in Monaco just over a week ago. The silver W02 registered 127.8 decibels, which is louder than the average human pain threshold, and nearly as loud as a military jet aircraft take-off with afterburner at 50 feet. The Renault comes next at 127.5 decibels, followed by McLaren-Mercedes (127.3) and Renault-powered Red Bull (127.1). The quietest F1 car this year is the Cosworth-powered Virgin, at 125.9 decibels. Bernie Ecclestone has cited the awesome sound of the current crop of F1 cars as his main objection to the proposed four-cylinder turbo rules for 2013. The FIA last Friday acknowledged that the 2013 debut could be delayed. "In consultation with the main stakeholders, and following the outcome of this consultation, a fax vote by the World Motor Sport Council could be considered by 30 June latest to redefine the implementation date", the governing body said after its Barcelona meeting.

Virgin Plays Down Leafield Move Rumors: After splitting with Nick Wirth, the next rumor at Virgin is that the struggling team is set to move into the former Arrows and Super Aguri facility in Leafield (UK). Since entering Formula One based on the F3 team Manor, the outfit has been located at Dinnington, but with the crucial technical headquarters at Wirth Research in Banbury. It is rumored Leafield has been proposed as the ideal base after the Wirth split by team consultant Pat Symonds. Symonds is the previously highly-respected engineer who was banned from a direct operational role in F1 following the Renault crashgate scandal two years ago. Virgin Racing chief executive Graeme Lowdon told the Sheffield Star newspaper: "We are always evaluating our options but we have had no discussions with them (Leafield). "It is way too early to make any decisions on that. We are reviewing everything and looking at what the best solution is going forwards."