As F1’s newest venue, there is a lot of interest surrounding the Hanoi Street Circuit in Vietnam. Many players on the F1 2020 game have found it to be a handful to say the least.
However, with the right approach and a solid setup, the city streets of Hanoi seem a little less daunting.
Turn 1
This is one of the toughest corners of the whole circuit.
TURN 1: Getting your braking for this tight left-hander is critical
To get it right, you’ll need to brake just before the 100m board. You’ll want to get as close to the apex as you can without taking the inside kerb. Clunking over the kerb will unsettle the car for turn two, which is treacherous enough as it is.
You should find yourself in 2nd gear at the apex, with a minimum speed of around 50mph.
Turns 2-5
Once you’ve managed turn 1, the first thing to do is straighten up the car on the exit. This is preparation for the long turn 2.
TURN 2: This long curve will punish over-aggression
Don’t be too greedy on the throttle here, as this corner has some real bite to it if you push it too hard. You’ll also want to avoid the kerb on the inside, as this will majorly compromise your stability.
By the time you get to turn 3, you should have been just getting to full throttle. Get the car as wide as possible, before braking at the very end of the pit exit. This should see you going from 5th to 3rd gear.
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For turn 3, aim to get the car as close to the wall on the inside of the corner as possible, without touching it. Your minimum speed for this corner should be around 70mph.
After that, it’s all about how quickly you can get the car steady enough to floor the throttle. I find the best way to do this is to run with the kerbing of turn four directly under my car, so that none of my wheels are running along it.
As soon as your car is back on firm ground after this kerb, floor the throttle. You shouldn’t have to worry about turn 5 at all when taking this line.
Turns 6-9
After a brief straight, you’ll find the braking zone for turn 6. Look for the 100m board on the left-hand side, and brake just before you get to it. It’s important to brake no later than this, as going deep will compromise you heavily through turn 7.
TURN 8: This one goes on for ever!
Try to cut the triangular shaped kerb on the inside of turn 6 entirely. By riding over the kerb you open up your line far better for turn 7. Your minimum speed for turn 6 should be around 65mph, and I would recommend trying to keep it in 3rd gear at the lowest.
Having cut turn 6, you should be over towards the right-hand side of the track before turn 7. A sharp dab on the brakes as you’re about to turn in should take you down to 45mph for the apex. Avoid the inside kerb for this one, as the stability of the car is important for what comes next.
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The long turn 8 can be taken a variety of different ways. I would recommend a short burst of throttle on the exit of 7, followed by braking back down to 70mph as the track begins to tighten.
The most important thing here is to be able to get to maximum throttle as quickly as possible before turn 9. To achieve this, sacrificing your corner speed for turn 8 in favour of a good exit is the way to go. You should be at 100% throttle well before you flick the car through the right hander of turn 9.
Turns 11-12
Turn 10 is a flat-out piece of track which is part of the long DRS straight after turn 9.
TURN 11: A pad user's nightmare
Turns 11 and 12 make up the hairpin at the end of the DRS stretch, and they are the hardest part of the entire circuit. You’ll need to brake just before the kerbing starts on the right-hand side of the track before the corner itself.
If you’re using a gamepad, go all the way down to first gear with an apex speed of around 35mph. If you don’t do this, you won’t be able to get around the corner at all.
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Taking an early apex will also be a help, both in terms of actually getting around the incredibly tight turn and also to help you get the car straightened up quickly on the exit.
Be careful through turn 12, as the back end likes to kick out under traction here. Make sure you’re wary of that possibility.
Turns 13-18
After another short blast of throttle, you’ll reach turn 13. Brake slightly later than the halfway point between the 100m and 50m boards. You should find yourself going down to 2nd gear, and around 65mph.
TURN 14: The mad dash between the walls is exhilarating
Clipping the inside kerb is fine here, but taking a large chunk of it will slow you down.
Once again, getting the car straight on the exit as soon as you can is key. This is so that you will be able to lay the power down without the car fighting you.
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Turns 14-17 are all taken absolutely flat out, and you shouldn’t find them difficult at all. For turn 18, a slight lift of the throttle is all that is necessary. You should be taking this left hander at no less than 170mph.
Turn 19-22
Once again, the exit of one corner is the entry to another. Getting the car as far to the left-hand side of the track as possible before turning in to 19 will help you out. Brake for turn 19 at the shadow left by the overhanging advertisement board on the left.
TURN 21: Wait for the white line to begin accelerating
The minimum speed for this corner is about 130mph, taken in 6th gear. Try to run your front right tyre along as much of the inside kerb as you can, but be careful not to hit the wall.
Flicking the car over to the right on the exit will help you with turn 20. Here you should use the kerb quite extensively, as it helps to prevent you from understeering around the corner. A small amount of braking is needed here, enough to take you down to about 115mph in 5th gear.
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The turns come thick and fast in this section. You won’t have time to think before turn 21 hits you. Once again, aim to have your front right tyre on the inside kerb, as it will guide your car around the corner.
You’ll need another small application of brakes here. This time your target speed is about 123mph. Once you have crossed the white line on the ground it is safe to accelerate a little before turn 22.
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For this next corner, brake a short distance before the final floodlight on the right of the track. This is a harder braking zone, taking you down to 2nd gear and about 50mph.
Aim for the apex of the corner, but don’t use the inside kerb. The car will tend to understeer here, so be careful for the wall on the exit.
Turn 23
Once your car is straightened on the exit of turn 22, floor the throttle until you reach the black box hanging over the track on the top right of the screen. This is your turn in point, and you should take your foot totally off of the throttle pedal here.
TURN 23: The end of a long and challenging lap
Try to get as close to the wall on the inside of the turn as possible. Once you’re certain you won’t run into the wall on the left, throw the power down.
Take care with this one, as it’s very easy to get greedy on the power and hit the wall on the outside, causing front wing damage.
Setup
It takes a unique setup to get a car that is balanced and fast around the Hanoi track.
Fortunately, our Vietnam Grand Prix setup is available to give you a hand around this tricky new circuit!