Inside the deserted £540m F1 circuit planned for the Vietnamese GP before it was canned when mayor was sent to jail

VIETNAM planned to host their very first Grand Prix back in 2020.

The £540million Hanoi motor race circuit was set to welcome the paddock as Formula 1 expanded its reach to new territories across the globe.

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Vietnam was due to host its first F1 GP in 2020[/caption]

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The coronavirus pandemic led to the inaugural edition being postponed[/caption]

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It has not returned to the F1 calendar since 2020[/caption]

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Cyclists now use the Hanoi circuit[/caption]

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It has been abandoned as no F1 race appears on the horizon[/caption]

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Motorcyclists have also been seen driving through the gates of the fenced off circuit[/caption]

Vietnam signed a 10-year deal with F1 back in 2018 – an agreement which cost around £54million and was to be funded by private conglomerate, VinGroup.

But the inaugural edition of the Vietnam GP ended up being axed due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Since then, it has not appeared on the F1 calendar.

In 2021, it was dropped from the schedule after city mayor Nguyen Duc Chung – a major supporter of the race – was arrested.

He would later be sentenced to ten years in prison for corruption charges.

State media then claimed in 2022 that authorities had dismissed any hope of Vietnam staging a race there until at least 2029.

However, the authorities refused to confirm this to external media outlets.

F1 released the 2023 calendar last year and once again it missed out.

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And images of the track – which features a 1.5km straight and street-style third sector – show that the spectator stands have been taken away.

The 3.5 mile circuit, which is surrounded by grass and weeds, is partly fenced off to the public.

However, some cyclists and motorcyclists have been seen going through the gates, spilling over from the busy roads in the city.

And another part of the circuit has been opened up for the Vietnamese people to use as public roads.

It is not yet known if, when or what the circuit will be used for in the future.

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One side of the circuit has been opened up for day-to-day use[/caption]

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It is a sad sight to see the track abandoned three years after its first GP was scheduled to take place[/caption]

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It is unlikely a Grand Prix will take place here before the end of the decade[/caption]

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F1 fans in Vietnam have been left disappointed by the failure to stage a Grand Prix[/caption]