F1 2020 Hanoi Street Circuit revealed – watch some hot laps from the Vietnam GP

Codemasters have revealed the second of the new circuits being added to F1 2020, the Hanoi track for the cancelled Vietnam GP. It will join the Zandvoort track as part of the race calendar when F1 2020 comes out on 10th July.

Now, we almost certainly won’t be seeing any racing at the real world circuit this year – it was one of the first to be postponed due to the Covid-19 coronavirus pandemic, and it’s doubtful that it will make it onto any revised calendar that the governing bodies are able to put together. We can expect it to appear on the 2021 calendar, should F1 be able to get back to some kind of normal operations by then.

Until then, F1 fans and drivers alike will be able to preview the track in F1 2020. We got to go hands on with it early setting a string of not-so-hot laps, capturing some gameplay footage as you’ll find below. You’ll have to forgive my accident prone fingers and thumbs playing on a gamepad, as I tootle around six laps, making little mistakes here and there, running deep, wide and just leaving all sorts of time out on track.

Even with my poor driving you can still get a sense of what the circuit offers, with long, long straights, and fast and technical twisty turny bits through close street circuit style barriers.. It’s quite fun, reminiscent at times of another asian track that Hermann Tilke designed for the South Korean grand prix.

We’ve had plenty more time hands on with the game a few weeks ago, finding a game that’s broadening its appeal in several directions. It’s more realistic in some ways, more accessible in others, and brings new elements like a custom MyTeam management career.

For our F1 2020 preview, I wrote:

“Every year since 2015 has been building toward the next, and F1 2020 continues to grow in interesting and engaging ways, even if some of the features have been cribbed from last generation’s games. Still, whether you’re an F1 superfan who desperately wants to bring Stefan GP to reality, a complete novice racer looking for an easier way into the sport, or even if you’re Lando Norris who just wants the ERS to be just a little bit closer to the real thing, this is set to cater to a broader audience than ever before.”

F1 2020 will be out on 10th July for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC and Google Stadia.

Source: press release