F1 has always been partial to a cool street race taking place at night – they’re even more excited if it takes place in a country of 97.47million people.
The Vietnamese Grand Prix was supposed to be one of the funkiest races on the motorsport calendar, that guaranteed excitement and also expanded the sport’s reach in new territories. Taking place on the streets of the South East Asian nation’s capital city of Hanoi, fans were looking forward to seeing what the country has to offer.
Hundreds of millions were invested into creating a brand new track which zipped around the city after a ten-year deal with F1 was signed in 2018. However, instead of the likes of Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen, cyclists, tuk-tuk drivers, motorcyclists and the occasional car drives on the track – Daily Star Sport has a look at the abandoned Hanoi Circuit.
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Where it all started
In 2018, the Vietnamese Grand Prix was announced as the first new race since Liberty Media took over the sport in the previous year – a £54m ten-year deal believed to have been paid for by private conglomerate, VinGroup was agreed
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The initial design
A sleek design featuring parts of the track over-spilling onto the streets of Hanoi left fans impressed
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Coronavirus
However, the inaugural race which was supposed to take place in 2020 was cancelled due to Coronavirus
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The swinging of the axe
However, in 2021, the race was dropped from the schedule after city mayor and supporter for the Grand Prix Nguyen Duc Chung was arrested – he would later be sentenced to ten years in prison for corruption charges
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The return that never was
It has not been brought back into the F1 calendar
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From F1 track to cycle track
The track is currently being used by cyclists in Hanoi
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An open door policy…apparently
The gates of the fences around the track are wide open, allowing motorcyclists to drive through unchallenged
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Used by the public
One whole side of the circuit is now currently being used by the public
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Total disappointment
Vietnam fans were left disappointed by the failure to host at least one Grand Prix in the city
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No Grand Prix on the horizon
There does not appear to be much hope for an unlikely inclusion into the sport for a long time
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The stands are still…well, standing
The huge stands built for fans at the GP are still currently in place
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Another missed opportunity
Considering the current state of what looked to be a cool track, the track is a giant reminder of what was a missed opportunity to bring the sport to another territory
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