How F1 is creating its 'next Baku' in Vietnam

In the north of Vietnam, 100 or so miles from the Chinese border, lies the country's second largest city. Inhabited by four million people, Hanoi is the cultural capital of Vietnam, mixing a fusion of modernity with old French colonial influences.

The city is characterised by ancient temples, lush parks and, as a backdrop, verdant mountains. Over 50 miles from the coast, Hanoi is situated in the delta of the Red River and is a vibrant city, where the scooter has overtaken the bicycle as the most popular form of transport.

In an area 20 minutes from downtown, in the Nam Tu Liem district, work is being feverishly undertaken to clear an area and construct a brand-new permanent pits and paddock to host a world championship Formula 1 race. The first ever Vietnam Grand Prix will make its debut on the calendar in 2020.

This race is a source of great pride for the owners of F1. It will be the first new venue on the calendar since Liberty Media wrestled control from Bernie Ecclestone in 2017.

Two-thirds of the track will utilise public roads already in place, while the high-speed twisty, final section of the lap, and the start/finish straight, are being built from the ground up. The area where the pits will be was, until recently, a lake.

In the last week of March, FIA president Jean Todt travelled to Hanoi, along with track designer Hermann Tilke to a ground breaking ceremony, alongside representatives of the Vietnam Grand Prix Corporation and the chairman of the Hanoi People's Committee.

Tilke and the construction workers have just 12 months to finish the project and turn an area of 88 hectares into a 3.46 mile, 22-turn state-of-the-art circuit.

Computer generated images of the pit building display how the new permanent facility will look.

The design on top of the grandstand is based on an old citadel in Hanoi and will be finished in bamboo cladding to give it a Vietnamese style. The traditional Thang Long architecture of the structure also reveals a bridge for VIPs to access Paddock Club hospitality above the pits.

The circuit will form part of the My Dinh Sports Complex, which already has a football stadium and arenas for swimming and tennis.

Similar to Albert Park in Melbourne, the authorities will create the pits and paddock in a public park, which the city's inhabitants can enjoy all year round. The circuit is characterised by wide long straights (the longest is 1.5km) connected by roundabouts into long braking zones and tight hairpins.

The intention is to create a street circuit with overtaking opportunities - more akin to Baku than Monaco.

"There was a close co-operation with the team at Formula 1 and the organisers at Hanoi to design the circuit," says Carsten Tilke, the managing director of Tilke (and son of Hermann) who is responsible for the day-to-day operations of the company.

"They had a lot of input and we had many discussions about how we could create a good circuit, not only from a driving perspective, but to offer a lot of overtaking too.

"Of course, we are fixed to some given streets - which are basically the straights - but through simulation tools we have been able to create the best track possible."

The corner at the end of the longest straight, Turn 11, will feature grandstands on both sides of the track to create what Tilke describes as a "stadium" section.

Between those grandstands and the football stadium will be fan zones and an F1 Village, with vendors for both local and international visitors incorporating Hanoian and Vietnamese cultural activities and local cuisine. The stadium will also host concerts during the weekend.

The plans for the track are based on a spectator attendance of up to 100,000 people.

The section Tilke is most excited about is the final part of the lap, which allowed his design team to be free-thinking because there are no existing roads to compromise with. He describes it as very technical, as well as high-speed, with little run-off and no margin for error.

"The whole track has a nice combination of fast corners and long straights, so it will be difficult to find a good setup for the teams,"
 he says.

"Our simulations have shown it will
 offer good racing and plenty of overtaking options. It will be difficult to get a good lap time as it will be very easy to make a mistake - so hopefully the drivers will like the challenge."

In early April, five Tilke engineers moved to Hanoi to live full-time to work on the project. The difficult quest will be to finish on time.

"The design and planning process is quite far down the line," adds Tilke.

"Almost everything is ready, but the construction has only just started. The ground breaking ceremony was in late March and now we have to get a lot of machinery on site to get the process to build the venue underway.

"Although the calendar for 2020 hasn't been finalised yet, we have been given until the start of next season for Hanoi to be ready.

"That's an ambitious target but they are used to building fast in Vietnam. But of course it needs a standard and quality,
so we have to work closely together and put all our effort in to make it happen. Like other sporting projects we can't afford to finish one week late. Cars need to be on the track for the first free practice session on Friday morning of the race weekend."

And when they do, Vietnam will become the 33rd different country to host a Formula 1 world championship race, and the first new grand prix in the post-Bernie Ecclestone era.