Vietnam’s F1 Track Abandoned as Hopes Fade for Debut Grand Prix

Hanoi's motor race circuit lies largely abandoned while hopes fade that Vietnam's capital will ever host a Formula One grand prix. (AFP)
Hanoi's motor race circuit lies largely abandoned while hopes fade that Vietnam's capital will ever host a Formula One grand prix. (AFP)
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Vietnam’s F1 Track Abandoned as Hopes Fade for Debut Grand Prix

Hanoi's motor race circuit lies largely abandoned while hopes fade that Vietnam's capital will ever host a Formula One grand prix. (AFP)
Hanoi's motor race circuit lies largely abandoned while hopes fade that Vietnam's capital will ever host a Formula One grand prix. (AFP)

Fenced off to the public and dotted with plastic waste, Hanoi's motor race circuit lies largely abandoned while hopes fade that Vietnam's capital will ever host a Formula One grand prix.

The city was set to make its F1 debut in 2020 but the inaugural Vietnamese Grand Prix was cancelled because of the Covid-19 pandemic, and Hanoi has not appeared on the race calendar since.

Now, the spectator stands have been removed and most of the circuit sits empty -- save a few hobby cyclists who sneak in, lured by the open space in the traffic-clogged city.

They race past yellowing grass, weeds and trash blown in by the wind, but the track itself appears like new, with "Vietnam" still clearly visible where it was painted on the tarmac.

Outside the surrounding metal fence, Hanoi's ubiquitous motorbikes have already reclaimed the roads once earmarked to form part of the 5.6-kilometer (3.5-mile) track.

Vietnam inked a 10-year deal with Formula One in 2018, betting that the glamour of the sport could reshape Hanoi's staid image, and reflect the country's economic liftoff.

Costing Vietnam $60 million a year, the fee was to be picked up in full by the country's largest private conglomerate, VinGroup, which had been hoping to dazzle with a night race.

But after the 2020 cancellation, the race was dropped from the 2021 global calendar when city mayor Nguyen Duc Chung, a major supporter of the grand prix, was arrested.

Chung was sentenced to 10 years in jail on corruption charges.

"Without Chung, the future of the race in Hanoi is gloomy," a source close to the race told AFP on condition of anonymity in 2020.

State media said city authorities in June last year ruled out hosting the race between 2022 and 2029.

Authorities, however, refused to confirm the news to AFP.

Hanoi was absent again from the 2023 race schedule announced last month.

Two-and-a-half years after the first race should have been staged, there is still disappointment among the country's small but growing F1 fanbase.

"It would have been my first opportunity to see the drivers, the F1 cars, the racing teams in real life... and I wanted to feel what it was like to sit next to an F1 circuit," said 23-year-old Bui Viet Giang.

"I am sorry that it will not happen. I do hope it can be organized again in the future."



Lionel Messi's 6th Brace in 7 Games Seals Inter Miami's Win over Red Bulls

CINCINNATI, OHIO - JULY 16: Lionel Messi #10 of Inter Miami CF shoots during the MLS match between FC Cincinnati and Inter Miami CF at TQL Stadium on July 16, 2025 in Cincinnati, Ohio.   Jeff Dean/Getty Images/AFP
CINCINNATI, OHIO - JULY 16: Lionel Messi #10 of Inter Miami CF shoots during the MLS match between FC Cincinnati and Inter Miami CF at TQL Stadium on July 16, 2025 in Cincinnati, Ohio. Jeff Dean/Getty Images/AFP
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Lionel Messi's 6th Brace in 7 Games Seals Inter Miami's Win over Red Bulls

CINCINNATI, OHIO - JULY 16: Lionel Messi #10 of Inter Miami CF shoots during the MLS match between FC Cincinnati and Inter Miami CF at TQL Stadium on July 16, 2025 in Cincinnati, Ohio.   Jeff Dean/Getty Images/AFP
CINCINNATI, OHIO - JULY 16: Lionel Messi #10 of Inter Miami CF shoots during the MLS match between FC Cincinnati and Inter Miami CF at TQL Stadium on July 16, 2025 in Cincinnati, Ohio. Jeff Dean/Getty Images/AFP

Lionel Messi had two goals and two assists to lead Inter Miami to a bounce- back 5-1 victory over the host New York Red Bulls on Saturday night in Harrison, N.J.

Messi and Inter Miami (12-4-5, 41 points) erased a 1-0 first-half deficit with a flurry of goals late in the first half -- two of them coming off the foot of Telasco Segovia -- that staked the Herons to a 3-1 halftime lead, Reuters said.

Miami won its sixth MLS match in its past seven after having a five-game winning streak snapped at FC Cincinnati on Wednesday. Messi saw the end of his MLS-record streak of five matches scoring multiple goals, only to record a brace on Saturday.

The Red Bulls (9-9-6, 33 points) failed to string together consecutive wins at home and lost to Inter Miami for the second time this season.

New York scored its lone goal in the 15th minute when Emil Forsberg lifted a corner kick in front of Miami goalkeeper Rocco Rios Novo's line of sight. Alexander Hack then kicked it home for the score despite having defender Federico Redondo draped all over him.

Rios Novo made his second start this season for Oscar Ustari, who sat out with an injury.

Jordi Alba, who exited the game in the 84th minute with what appeared to be a leg cramp, scored his first goal of the season in MLS league play off a cross from Messi in the 24th minute to tie the game1-1.

Inter Miami took the lead for good in the 27th when Luis Suarez, who assisted on the first goal, sent a ball ahead to Messi, who then directed it quickly to Alba, who then crossed it back to Segovia for an easy shot into the back of the net.

In the third minute of first-half stoppage time, Redondo advanced the ball into the Red Bulls' box but could not fire off a shot. Segovia, though, surged in and fired a shot off a rebound past Carlos Miguel Coronel for a third goal.

Messi followed with goals in the 60th and 75th minutes to seal the outcome.

Messi increased his total goals in MLS games to 18 this season and has contributed on 27 scores.

The Red Bulls mustered nine shots in the match, but they were outshot 8-1 in shots on target.