F1’s expansion under Liberty reaches new ground in Vietnam

Vietnam will host Formula 1 in 2020 with a Grand Prix in the country’s capital Hanoi.

Liberty Media has announced that it has agreed a multi-year deal for the street race with promoter VinGroup.

The deal is part of what Liberty calls F1’s ‘long-term strategy to broaden the appeal of the sport.’

“Since we became involved in this sport in 2017,” F1 chairman and CEO Chase Carey said, “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.”

The circuit will be a 5.5km street track, which supposedly draws inspiration from circuits from around the world including Nürburgring, Monaco, Sepang and Suzuka.

Long straights, one stretching to more than 1.5km, characterise the circuit – speeds are expected of 335km/h.

Hermann Tilke’s design company will be involved in bringing the circuit to fruition, but F1 insists the circuit will not produce processional racing.

Planning approvals and plans are still to be finalised before construction can begin ahead of its 2020 date, which is claimed should benefit the city as a whole.

Nguyen Viet Quang, Vingroup’s vice chairman and CEO, said: “An essential part of this collaboration has been making sure we 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 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.”

City of Hanoi chairman Nguyen Duc Chung added: “It’s a further demonstration of Vietnam’s ability as one of the fastest growing economies in the world to host events on a global scale and attract tourism to the country. “

The Vietnamese Grand Prix will be the fourth race in Asia on the calendar.

It has not been confirmed whether the event will be an addition to the current 21 races, but uncertainty still hangs over Silverstone’s British Grand Prix and the German Grand Prix, both of which are confirmed only for 2019.