Red Bull denies Japan food contamination reports

Red Bull has denied reports it is concerned about team members consuming contaminated food ahead of this weekend's Japanese grand prix.

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The German newspaper Bild am Sonntag on Sunday said Sebastian Vettel's team had shipped its own food to Suzuka due to concerns about the Fukushima nuclear crisis.

The report also said boss Christian Horner has told the 80-strong race team to avoid eating out.

But Red Bull denied the claims by insisting it "uses both local and international produce" at every grand prix on the calendar "and this race will be no different.

"Red Bull Racing has worked with local Japanese suppliers, such as big retailers, supermarkets and bakeries, in order to obtain good, local produce, which we will serve throughout the weekend," it said in a statement.

The team also said the claim Horner told his staff not to eat out in Japan is "incorrect".

The veteran Swiss correspondent Roger Benoit also scolded the media reports, saying recent MotoGP and Indy races at Motegi had allayed any fears about travelling to Japan.

Motegi is only 150 kilometres from Fukushima, while Suzuka is 700 kilometres from the crippled nuclear plant, meaning any alarm in the media "is pure scaremongering", Benoit wrote in Blick.

"I have no concerns about going and I think it is good that formula one is going to put on a show in a country that really appreciates our sport," said Ferrari's Felipe Massa on Tuesday.