Formula 1 Announce Vietnam Grand Prix From 2020, Multi-Year Deal Agreed

Formula 1 and the City of Hanoi have announced a Grand Prix will be held in the Vietnamese capital city from April 2020 onwards. It becomes the first new addition to the race calendar under Liberty Media’s ownership.

Hanoi promoter, Vingroup, has signed a multi-year deal with F1 to host the race, which will be a street race through the heart of the capital city. It will be the fourth of its kind on the race calendar along with Monaco, Singapore and the Azerbaijan Grand Prix’s.

The track itself was designed using a number of other circuits as inspiration, namely the Nurburgring, Monaco and the Suzuka Circuit in Japan. The track will be made up of existing and purpose built roads.

The race will certainly be more action packed than the Monaco or Singapore Grand Prix’s due to the presence of two long straights, with one measuring 1.5 kilometers (0.9 miles). There is also a good mix of fast and slow speed corners on the 5.565km track to test the skills of the drivers.

Liberty Media chairman Chase Carey was in Vietnam on Wednesday for the launch of the track. He revealed that Vietnam fits in with the new owners’ vision of broadening the reach of the sport to new cities – it is the fourth race in Asia with three others currently taking place in China, Japan and Singapore.

“We are delighted to announce that Hanoi will host a Formula 1 Grand Prix,” Carey said, as quoted on F1.com. “Since we became involved in this sport in 2017, we have talked about developing new destination cities to broaden the appeal of Formula 1 and the Vietnamese Grand Prix is a realisation of that ambition.”

“We are thrilled to be here in Hanoi, one of the most exciting cities in the world right now with such a rich history and an incredible future ahead of it. This is the perfect formula for Grand Prix racing and I look forward to this becoming a real highlight of the F1 calendar. ... Our Motosport team, working in collaboration with the City of Hanoi and promoter Vingroup, has worked to enable a circuit that will not only test the drivers but also ensure that our fans enjoy the racing spectacle. We are really looking forward to seeing Formula 1 cars speeding around the streets of this fantastic city from 2020,” he added.

The chairman of Vingroup, the promoter of the race, Nguyen Viet Quang, was also delighted that their dream of hosting an F1 race in Vietnam has finally come a reality and is confident that F1’s arrival will boost the people of the nation.

“We are excited to see that our work with Formula 1 to secure this deal has finally come to fruition,” Viet Quang said. “An essential part of this collaboration has been making sure that we not only showcase the city of Hanoi but also deliver an exciting race for Formula 1 fans in Vietnam and around the world.”

“With the mission of “a better life for Vietnamese people”, Vingroup wants to bring this race to Vietnam because of the general benefits to the society such as more jobs will be created, the infrastructure of Hanoi will be upgraded, and other bigger worldwide events will be encouraged to take place in Vietnam,” he added.