It seems that every season a new race or two is added to the Formula 1 calendar: Miami, Saudi Arabia, Zandvoort and now Las Vegas... But whatever happened to Vietnam?
Before the dreaded pandemic hit in 2020, Formula 1 had promised fans a brand new street circuit in the middle of Vietnam's capital, Hanoi. But now, three years later, and we are no closer to that promised race.
Despite the street circuit being race ready, after years of planning and construction, just 21 days before track action was scheduled, the race was cancelled. Granted the pandemic did have a large part to play in this cancellation, but it is looking increasingly likely that the Vietnamese Grand Prix will never come to fruition.
Nguyen Duc Chung, the Chairman of Hanoi, had championed the Grand Prix. However, he was largely a sole supporter, with little wider government support. It was only through the financial backing of the VinGroup that the race was approved.
But after the pandemic hit, the political situation had also changed significantly. Chung had been arrested for issues unrelated to Formula 1, and is currently serving five years in prison for appropriating classified documents.
With this development, the race lost its main driving force. And with the addition of a lack of interest from the government and the general population, the last glimmer of hope for the Vietnamese Grand Prix faded.
Without anybody to fill Chung's void, and Formula 1 already having a record breaking number of races this season, the Grand Prix that should have been instead sits untouched. Whether Formula 1 will ever make it to Vietnam is anyones guess, but for now one of F1's newest Paddocks remains stagnant.
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