Hanoi to host Formula One street race grand prix in 2020

The Vietnamese capital is the latest city to benefit from the sport's expansion into Asia - a sign of the country's turnaround. Cars sponsored by the world's biggest companies will race around the streets of the city where communist revolutionary leader Ho Chi Minh had his headquarters during the Vietnam War. It marks a stage in a remarkable journey for a country which, until the South Vietnamese army was defeated in 1975, was repeatedly at war from 1940. F1 chairman Chase Carey and mayor of Hanoi Nguyen Duc Chung announced on Wednesday that that the circuit would be made partly of existing roads and partly of a new track. The new part of the 5.5km track will be built in a new residential area on the edge of the centre. Mr Chung said: "Hosting Formula One races in Hanoi will open us many opportunities for business, tourist development (and) advertise the image of Vietnam and image of Hanoi to the world. "And at the same time create new a playing ground and experiences for people of all walks of life. "The length and turns of this track will bring a lot of excitement. According to designers, it will be the most exciting track in the world." The addition of Vietnam's capital city is part of F1's expansion into Asia that has been ongoing since it was bought by Liberty Media in 2016. In recent years, Azerbaijan and Malaysia have been added to the calendar. Mr Carey said: "The energy of this country is incredible. The city of Hanoi I think is increasingly one that's capturing the world's imagination. Asia is clearly very important overall to our future." While many towns and cities in Vietnam were devastated by fighting in a series of wars with foreign powers from the Second World War onwards, the historic centre of Hanoi remains relatively intact. During the Vietnam War against South Vietnam and the US, major bombing raids destroyed several areas of its suburbs.