20/03/2019
NEWS STORY
Speaking at the ground-breaking ceremony in Hanoi for the street circuit that will host the Vietnamese Grand Prix next year, Jean Todt said the race will give the country international exposure.
Ignoring the irony in terms of the fact that Vietnam dominated the daily headlines throughout the 60s and for much of the early 70s, one cannot help but feel that we'd heard the same message before, in India, in Turkey, in Korea.
"It's fantastic for the development of the motorsport in Vietnam and in the region," Todt told reporters. "I really hope that soon here will also be facilities to host kart racing, drifting racing."
The FIA president said that he hoped the race will inspire youngsters in the country to take up racing.
"You have young people, talented with a passion for motorsports, that's why I think it's very important to involve very quickly a new category of motorsport," he said.
The 3.47 mile (5.6 km) track incorporates a number of existing and still-to-be-built roads in the My Dinh district of Hanoi, around 8 miles (13 km) from the city centre.
At a reported cost of £30.2m ($40m) a year, the event, the first new race to be added to the calendar since Liberty Media bought F1 in early 2017, and which has a ten year deal, is backed by Vietnam's largest private conglomerate VinGroup, and will not receive any government funding.
"F1 is always considered the king of all races," said VinGroup deputy chairman Nguyen Viet Quang at the ceremony, "we have designed a challenging street circuit imprinted with Vietnamese identity and architecture."
"This major event will give to Vietnam, and particularly its capital, an international exposure," said Todt. "I look forward to seeing you in a year’s time on the starting grid of the first Formula 1 Vietnamese Grand Prix in Hanoi."