Modern F1 race tracks 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 well past their prime.

In rare instances, such as with NASCAR’s legendary North Wilkesboro Speedway, they can be restored and revived. Yet, just a few miles outside the bustling city of Hanoi lies one of F1’s most intriguing abandoned venues – the remnants of the Hanoi Circuit. This track was intended to be a hybrid street and permanent venue, hosting the Vietnam Grand Prix in the 2020 season.

Construction was finished in February of that year, with the inaugural event scheduled for April. However, the COVID-19 pandemic forced organisers to cancel the race, with plans to reschedule it for 2021. This date also came and went without a Vietnam Grand Prix.

Further complications arose when Nguyen Duc Chung, the city mayor who championed bringing F1 to Hanoi, was sentenced to five years in prison on corruption charges in November 2020. He pled guilty at the start of the trial, and in 2022 he was convicted on two additional charges, increasing his total sentence to 10 years.

In a peculiar twist, fans can still experience the thrill of the £540million ($600m), 5.6-kilometre Hanoi Circuit, provided they have a copy of the F1 2020 video game.

The developers at 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 race around the winding 23-corner circuit, which has a similar flow to the Jeddah Corniche Circuit that joined the calendar the following year.

However, following 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 the upcoming elections.

As for the circuit, 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 competing for a spot on the calendar in the near future, it seems unlikely we will see F1 in the Vietnamese capital anytime soon.