What happened to F1 in Vietnam?

With a debut race in Vietnam expected to happen in April of 2020, work started on the Hanoi circuit on March 21, 2019.

Talks for a race to be held in Vietnam stretches back to Bernie Ecclestone’s time in charge of F1, but it wasn’t until it was under Liberty Media’s ownership that the race finally got the green light. Championed by chairman of Hanoi – Nguyen Duc Chung- eventually, the race was approved when VinGroup conglomerate committed to backing it financially. Work had soon begun on the venue around the My Dinh National Stadium.

With a fresh circuit ready, April 2020 was set to hold the first Vietnam Grand prix, which was later cancelled 21 days before the cars were set to hit the track for the first time, following the decision to cancel the 2020 Australian Grand Prix due to covid 19.

With no history of legacy, a race in Vietnam began to drift with a circuit ready to see some racing.

Will we see a race in Vietnam?

With new popular tracks like Miami, and the addition of another U.S circuit in Las Vegas following the recent growth of the sport in the states as well as the much loved historic circuits, it feels unlikely that the sport makes a debut in Vietnam, with the sport being not as popular in contrast to its rapidly increasing demographic in places like the US.

However, Stefano Domenical, continues to push to extend the number of races on the calendar to 25 next season. Rumours have come out that on the way to Australia Domenical had made a stop in Hanoi, where he had his top negotiator, Garcia Abad, by his side as they met with Vietnam President, Prime Minister, and Mayor of Hanoi to potentially secure a place for Vietnam on the 2024 calendar.

Talks around its return have been kept quiet, but many have speculated with the recent upswing in motorsports in the country, we could soon see Vietnam make its way back onto the calendar.