Formula 1: Despite the coronavirus threat, Vietnam is ready to welcome its first grand prize

So far, so good. Or almost. The weekend of April 5, Vietnam will host the third round of the Formula 1 World Championship. A great first for this country which has never had this honor so far. Except that for a few weeks, a threatening shadow has hovered over the Hanoi circuit with the spread of the coronavirus which has led to the cancellation of many competitions across the Asian continent. Including the Chinese Grand Prix, originally scheduled for April 19 in Shanghai - 800km west of Wuhan, the epicenter of the epidemic - and which has no date today. However, Hanoi is barely further from the capital of Hubei, since 1,400 km separate the two cities.

However, despite this geographic proximity, the Vietnam Grand Prix is ​​hanging on whatever it is on April 5. A fortnight ago, the organizers of the Asian event had thus affirmed, via a press release, "actively monitoring the situation". While adding, confident for the future: "For the moment, we do not foresee any significant impact on our April test". Optimism is still in force today since Le Ngoc Chi, the boss of the event, said in another press release: "Completing the work is an important step that we wish to celebrate, a month from hosting the first Vietnam Grand Prix in history. ”

In other words, everything is ready or almost in Hanoi to welcome the great circus of F1. The last portion of asphalt was laid a few days ago at the level of the pit straight line and the stands appear ready in view of the photos sent by the organizers. "Preparations for the race are continuing as planned," says Le Ngoc Chi. The 2020 Hanoi race will take place. With the help of everyone at Tilke and in F1, we are confident that this circuit will be one of the most difficult and demanding on the calendar. We can't wait to see it quickly become one of your favorites. ” Let us hope for him and the organizing team that the coronavirus is not right, in the coming days or weeks, of this beautiful enthusiasm ...

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