Vietnam's Forgotten, Unused F1 Track Speaks of What Might Have Been

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Back when the 2020 Formula 1 season was expected to go as planned, it would have included the debut of the Hanoi Circuit and the first-ever Vietnamese Grand Prix. The track was completed and ready for racing in February 2020, but a pandemic that delayed the season just hours before it was set to start left the inaugural Vietnamese GP canceled. Then, the 2021 race was canceled again and never re-scheduled for either 2022 or the upcoming 2023 season. That means the Hanoi Circuit has still never actually hosted a Formula 1 race. Now, after years of sitting dormant, overhead videos shared today by Agence France-Presse show the F1 track we're missing.

The Hanoi Circuit was set to be semi-permanent, with some temporary corners and some permanent corners designed in a section that would otherwise be used like a park. This is similar to the layouts of Australian, Canadian, and Miami Formula 1 rounds. Many of the permanent corners were inspired by existing corners at other tracks, like Suzuka and Monaco.

Plans to resume the race fell apart when its long-time champion, Hanoi chairman Nguyen Duc Chung, was arrested and convicted on unrelated charges relating to classified documents. Without his support, the completed track has struggled to attract the support it needs to fund an actual Formula 1 race in Vietnam.

F1's 2023 calendar already has a record 24 races, so any hope of an inaugural Vietnamese Grand Prix would need both financial support from a major backer and either a commitment to expand the F1 schedule or the end of an existing race. Until then, the Hanoi Circuit remains a complete, but hauntingly empty reminder of a race that has never actually happened.