Neglected F1 observe that value whopping £540m has by no means hosted a single Grand Prix

Modern F1 race circuits are glamorous venues held to the highest standards by the FIA, attracting hundreds of thousands of visitors annually.

However, some lie abandoned and in disrepair. Typically, these ghost tracks are old venues past their prime. In rare cases, like NASCAR’s legendary North Wilkesboro Speedway, they can be restored and revived.

Yet, just a few miles outside the bustling city of Hanoi, you’ll find one of F1’s most intriguing abandoned venues – the remnants of the Hanoi Circuit. This track was designed to be a hybrid street and permanent venue, set to host the Vietnam Grand Prix in 2020.

Construction wrapped up in February that year, with the inaugural event scheduled for April. But the COVID-19 pandemic forced organisers to scrap the race, rescheduling it for 2021 – a date that also came and went without a Vietnam Grand Prix.

The plans took another hit when Nguyen Duc Chung, the city mayor who championed bringing F1 to Hanoi, was sentenced to five years behind bars on corruption charges in November 2020. He pled guilty at the trial’s outset, and in 2022 he was convicted on two additional charges, extending his total sentence to 10 years, reports the Express.

In a strange twist, fans can still get a taste of the £540 million ($600m), 5.6 kilometre Hanoi Circuit – if they have a copy of the F1 2020 video game.

The game’s developers, Codemasters, scanned a version of Herman Tilke’s design into the game as the real circuit wasn’t finished at the time of production. This allowed fans to virtually race around the winding 23-corner circuit, which has a similar feel to the Jeddah Corniche Circuit that joined the calendar the following year.

However, after Chung’s arrest, Hanoi’s dreams of hosting a Grand Prix at their multi-million dollar facility were shattered. A BBC Sport report revealed that the Vietnamese government prioritised the country’s recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic and upcoming elections.

As for the circuit itself, the purpose-built segment remains standing on the outskirts of Hanoi. It lies deserted with no motorsport activity and overgrown foliage already taking over the premises.

With South Africa, Thailand, Rwanda and Argentina among the countries hoping for a spot on the calendar in the near future, it seems unlikely we’ll see F1 in the Vietnamese capital anytime soon.