Formula 1 model cars to be paraded on Hanoi streets

The parade will start at 1 p.m. with the cars being hauled by tractors through six routes.

The six are from Vo Chi Cong to Ly Thuong Kiet Streets, Ly Thuong Kiet to the Hanoi Opera House, the opera theater to Dien Bien Phu Street, Tran Phu to Pham Hung Streets, Me Tri Street to near the Formula One race venue, and Thang Long to Lang Ha Streets.

A Formula 1 car that will join a Hanoi roadshow on February 22, 2020. Photo courtesy of Vietnam Grand Prix.

The model cars are made of composite material and accurately simulate actual cars to be used in the race.

Visual artists and the University of Industrial Fine Arts engineers worked for five months to put together the three models.

Formula One managers have assured that the Vietnam Grand Prix is likely to go on unaffected by the coronavirus outbreak, although the China race on April 19 has been cancelled over the epidemic fears.

According to a statement published on Thursday on Grand Prix website, German broadcaster RTL will not cover the Hanoi Formula 1 race due to coronavirus concerns.

"After careful examination, we believe that in reporting from Hanoi, the risks to [employees'] health appear to be too great," it quotes RTL sports director Manfred Loppe as saying.

The broadcaster will instead cover the Grand Prix from a studio in Cologne.

Last week the Vietnam Grand Prix Corporation said the Porsche Carrera Cup Asia (PCCA) would be a support race at the Hanoi grand prix.

The inagural race is scheduled to be held from April 3 to 5 at the brand-new 5.607 km Hanoi circuit, whose construction began in March last year and is expected to be completed next month.