F1 track that cost $600m was abandoned before it held a Grand Prix after city's mayor was jailed
The FIA shelved plans to hold an F1 Grand Prix in a new city after its mayor was arrested on corruption charges - despite a track already being built.
The current season of F1 features 24 Grands Prix - the busiest calendar the sport has ever had - with traditional circuits mixed in alongside purpose-built tracks or street circuits.
With F1 seeing significant growth in recent years, countries across the globe are queueing up to submit their proposals to host a Grand Prix.
The sport could return to the likes of Argentina and South Africa in upcoming years, while other countries have expressed interest in hosting a Grand Prix for the first time.
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Ahead of the 2020 season, meanwhile, there was meant to be the reintroduction of the Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort and a brand new Grand Prix - the first new race unveiled under the sport's ownership by Liberty Media.
F1 was due to travel to Hanoi, Vietnam, for the new Vietnamese Grand Prix. The building of the permanent section of the Hanoi Circuit was completed in February 2020, and the race would have been held on April 5.
The Grand Prix was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which caused a significant alteration to the original 22-race calendar. At that time, plans were still in place for the race to be held in 2021.
The Hanoi Circuit spanned 5.613 kilometres and was due to feature a hybrid of public roads and a purpose-built section, which would have been opened to the public. There were 23 turns and one of the longest straights on the F1 calendar.
Initial indications suggested the track cost around $600 million (£540 million) to be built, with the renowned Herman Tilke chiefly responsible for its design.
It featured on the F1 2020 video game as a representation of what the final track would have looked like, because no cars had actually raced there at the time.
As it turned out, it wouldn't be until January 2023 when the Hanoi Circuit hosted its first race - and no F1 cars were in sight.
In November 2020, city mayor Nguyen Duc Chung was arrested on corruption charges in Vietnam unrelated to the Grand Prix and sentenced to five years in prison.
State media reported that Chung, who was a major driving force behind the hosting of the Grand Prix, was convicted and sentenced after a four-hour closed trial in Hanoi. Reuters added that he pled guilty at the start of the trial.
He would later be convicted for two other separate charges by the summer of 2022, meaning he would spend a total of 10 years in prison.
Up until weeks before Chung's arrest, government sources are said to have still believed there was a possibility that the Vietnamese Grand Prix could still be held in 2020.
But the race was kept off the 2021 calendar in light of the corruption controversy, and has rarely been mentioned since.
According to BBC Sport, Vietnamese authorities informed the FIA that its government had other priorities, including elections and the country's recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.
State media claimed in 2022 that authorities had no hope of the race being held until at least 2029, though those authorities refused to confirm this to AFP.
Last January, Japanese car manufacturer Honda held a New Year celebration event at the circuit, with a series of motorbike races being held alongside a revised layout of the original planned track.
Although yet to be confirmed, the FIA are due to announce another 24-race calendar for 2025 which is expected to feature the same circuits used in the current season. In 2026, the new Madrid Grand Prix will be added in and is expected to replace one of the existing Grands Prix rather than take the race total to 25, given FIA president Stefano Domenicali's comments.
Domenicali said at a Liberty Media investors' call earlier this month: "We believe that the balance we have in terms of numbers is the right one, so 24 is the balanced number that we feel is right.
"I do believe that all the propositions that are coming on our table is just giving us the possibility to make even better choices for our future."
Topics: Formula 1
Ryan Smart