F1 legend David Coulthard burns the tires in Hanoi

By Staff reporters   April 20, 2019 | 07:31 pm PT
F1 legend David Coulthard burns the tires in Hanoi
A F1 car performed on the street of Hanoi in the kick-off event. Photo by VnExpress/Giang Huy.
The F1 Vietnam Grand Prix heated up in Hanoi with David Coulthard starring in a kick-off event Saturday night.

The show was held at the My Dinh National Stadium.

David Coulthard, who has won 13 Grand Prix and stood on the podium 62 times, was the star of the show as he drove the F1 Red Bull car in front of My Dinh Stadium in the build up to Vietnam’s first F1 races.

Coulthard had driven the F1 car on Saigon’s streets last year when popular beer brand Heineken had hosted an event called the Perfect F1 Experience to celebrate the 2020 debut of the race in Vietnam.

This time in Hanoi, another racer, 23-year-old Jake Dennis also performed with Coulthard. The performance, which included impressive drifts and acceleration from the 1,000-horse power F1 car, thrilled thousands of people gathered in front of the My Dinh National Stadium.

"The kick-off event is the first in a series of activities that will be held this year to promote the F1 Vietnam Grand Prix in 2020. The F1 will help promote Vietnam to the world and also heat up the atmosphere in Vietnam for sports events from now to 2030," said Nguyen Viet Quang, general director of Vingroup, the country's biggest private firm.

Ticket prices for the first F1 race in the country, ranging from $75 to $390, were also announced at the event.

Construction of Vietnam’s first F1 circuit began last month and is expected to take 12 months. It is more than 5.5 kilometers long with 22 corners with a design inspired by some of the world's most exciting tracks like Germany, Monaco and Japan.

The track has a blend of street and classic circuits with half the track purpose-built for racing.

The F1 race in Hanoi will be held in April 2020 as a seven-day event, including parades, showcasing of racecars and other events. Streets will be barricaded for around four to five days before the racing event starts and traffic rerouted through other streets.

In 12 months, the world’s best F1 racers such as Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel will be behind the wheel, battling it out for pole position in Hanoi.

Vietnam will be the third Southeast Asian country to host a F1 race, following Malaysia and Singapore.

The Vietnam Grand Prix Corporation has signed a 10-year contract to host the race, and it can be extended further after the eighth year.

On Thursday, the first rendered onboard footage of F1's newest circuit in Hanoi was revealed by Hermann Tilke and his engineering group, the designers of the circuit. The video made by simulation tools and software showed what the Vietnam circuit will look like when it’s completed.

Buy tickets to the F1 Vietnam Grand Prix 2020 here.

Check out the first onboard footage of F1’s Vietnam circuit:

 
 
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