07/11/2018
NEWS STORY
Though the final layout has yet to be signed off, organisers of the Vietnamese Grand Prix insist Hanoi track will be no ordinary street circuit.
Indeed, like the Circuit of the Americas, Formula One Management and promoter Vingroup insists the Hermann Tilke designed track will feature sections that reflect numerous other circuits on the calendar.
According to FOM, the circuit, which is located on the western side of the city near the My Dinh National Stadium, features a "unique hybrid layout, fusing a street circuit's characteristics with a permanent countryside track layout within the confines of the city's topography".
Indeed, they state there was "real desire to steer away from humdrum 90-degree road-junction type corners and foster a layout that facilitates wheel-to-wheel racing while retaining a closed-in street feel that makes city race tracks so demanding for drivers".
Turns 1 and 2 are based on the opening corners at the Nurburgring, while Turns 12 through to 15 have been inspired by the run from Turn 1 (Ste Devote) up to Massenet at Monaco.
The sequence from Turns 16 to 19 are "reminiscent" of the Esses at Suzuka, while the final three corners are based on Sepang, a fast left-right followed by a tightening radius entry.
"That tricky and challenging final sequence, which completes the lap, offers the potential for mistakes and opens the door for a chasing driver to pick up a slipstream and launch an attack into the first turn".
The circuit features a whole range of corners from a slow-speed hairpin and slow to medium-speed corner combinations as well as the aforementioned Esses, not to mention a couple of long straights, one of which is 1.5 km in length and is expected to witness speeds of 335km/h through the speed trap.
Finally, the pit lane will miss out the last and first corners, thereby reducing the amount of time it takes to complete a pit stop and hopefully making a multi-stop strategy more viable.
Representatives of FOM as well as FIA Race Director, Charlie Whiting, have already visited the proposed location numerous times, and in the coming weeks it is expected the construction details for the track and its facilities will be signed off at which point work can begin.
Of course, whether this makes up for the loss of Silverstone - which at present is due to drop from the calendar after 2019 - remains to be seen.