The Hanoi Circuit was built to host the Vietnam Grand Prix, but the race was cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic and the track has been left abandoned ever since
Formula 1 has always been on the hunt for ways to bring fans closer to the action. Over the years, the race calendar has featured numerous street races.
From the star-studded Monaco to the dazzling Las Vegas Grand Prix, fans have had the opportunity to be as near to the action as possible. However, one circuit, designed to have fans practically inhaling the scent of burning rubber, was shockingly scrapped.
Just a few miles outside the bustling city of Hanoi lies one of the world’s most intriguing abandoned venues – the remnants of the Hanoi Circuit. The grand F1 track, which cost an eye-watering £540 million to construct, was intended to be a hybrid street and permanent venue that would host the Vietnam Grand Prix in 2020.
The construction was finished in February of that year, with the inaugural event scheduled for April. However, due to the Covid-19 pandemic, organisers were forced to postpone the race with plans to hold it in 2021 instead.
But that year also passed without a Vietnamese Grand Prix taking place, reports the Mirror. In November 2020, a wrench was thrown into the works when Nguyen Duc Chung, the city mayor who had championed bringing F1 to Hanoi, was sentenced to five years in prison on corruption charges.
He pleaded guilty at the start of the trial, and in 2022, he was convicted on two additional charges, increasing his total sentence to 10 years.
While supporters may rue what might have been, similar to the Korea International Circuit and the Valencia Street Circuit, which was scrapped 12 years ago, it remains technically feasible for F1 fanatics to sample the 5.6-kilometre Hanoi Circuit, provided they own a copy of the F1 2020 video game.
Developers Codemasters digitally mapped Herman Tilke’s blueprint into the game since the actual track wasn’t finished during development.
This offered fans the opportunity to navigate the twisting 23-corner layout, which conjures up a comparable sensation to the Jeddah Corniche Circuit that joined the calendar the subsequent year.
A BBC Sport report revealed that the Vietnamese authorities prioritised the nation’s bounce-back from the Covid-19 crisis and upcoming elections, leaving the specially-constructed venue still intact, yet hauntingly deserted.
Former F1 boss Chase Carey insisted at the time that the circuit would be operational for a 2021 Grand Prix. He said: “We are planning for 2021 events with fans that provide an experience close to normal and expect our agreements to be honoured.
“We have proven that we can safely travel and operate our races, and our promoters increasingly recognise the need to move forward and manage the virus.”
Half a decade after the Hanoi circuit was axed from the F1 timetable, it now sits amongst the ‘what ifs’ of the motorsport realm, alongside other carefully designed yet unutilised circuits around the globe.
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