Construction of the circuit that will host next year’s Vietnam Grand Prix has officially begun in the capital city of Hanoi.
Formula 1 confirmed last November that the championship will visit Vietnam for the first time in 2020, with a provisional April date pencilled into the calendar.
The circuit, totalling 5.565km and featuring 22 corners, will be a semi-permanent street circuit whose sections have taken inspiration from other venues across the world.
Ground was broken at the venue this week, with FIA President Jean Todt, Chairman of the Hanoi People’s Committee Nguyen Duc Chung and Vice Chairman and CEO of race promoter Vingroup Nguyen Viet Quang among the attendees.
The venue is set to be completed by March 2020.
The circuit – which also features a 1.5km long straight – has been designed by Hermann Tilke’s company and will incorporate part of the My Dinh Sports Complex.
A Formula 1 statement added that “activation areas such as F1 Fan Zone and the F1 Village will incorporate the Hanoian and Vietnamese culture.”
Vietnam is currently the only addition to the 2020 Formula 1 calendar, though championship officials remain keen to add events in The Netherlands and the United States.
Zandvoort has until the end of the current month to unearth the funding it needs while Liberty Media is still striving to add the Miami Grand Prix, which was initially set to debut in 2019.
Five current Grands Prix – Spain, Britain, Germany, Italy and Mexico – do not currently hold contracts beyond the end of 2019.
