---
title: "Report: Hanoi Hopes to Host Formula 1"
description: "Vietnam has just one racetrack and no motorsport history, but hosting Formula 1 could put the country on the radar for racers."
date: "2018-01-18"
modified: "2018-01-18"
authors:
  - name: "James Gilboy"
    job_title: "Contributing Writer"
    link: "https://www.thedrive.com/authors/james-gilboy"
url: "https://www.thedrive.com/accelerator/17765/report-hanoi-hopes-to-host-formula-1"
categories:
  - "News"
tags:
  - "Formula 1"
  - "Grand Prix"
  - "Vietnam"
---

# Report: Hanoi Hopes to Host Formula 1

![](<https://www.thedrive.com/wp-content/uploads/images-by-url-td/content/2018/01/gettyimages-646893058-e1516281561689.jpg>)
*\<em\>www.thedrive.com</em>*

Vietnam's capital, Hanoi, has resurfaced as a potential site for a Formula 1 Grand Prix, according to a report by [*Forbes*](<https://www.forbes.com/sites/csylt/2018/01/17/vietnam-grand-prix-expected-to-race-onto-f1-calendar/#68e5945d1558>), which says that official news on the race is due within a matter of weeks.

Proposals for new Grand Prix venues have been kicked around since Liberty Media proposed raising the number of races per season, with a calendar 25 races in length tabled last year. Vietnam was [first considered a possibility](<https://www.thedrive.com/accelerator/13913/argentina-and-vietnam-want-their-own-formula-one-races>) in F1 circles in August of last year, alongside Argentina, but neither looked to be promising destinations for international motorsport at the time.

A meeting between the sport's promoters and commercial rights holders (Liberty Media) regarding the Grand Prix was reported to have been held Wednesday. As before, a Hanoi street circuit is the preferred setting for the race, as opposed to the country's sole racetrack, one [Happyland Circuit](<https://happylandcircuit.vn>).

Street circuits made up three of the 2017 F1 season's 20 races, and include Monaco, Azerbaijan, and Singapore. Others, such as Australia, Russia, and Canada are part-time tracks, and spend the rest of the year as parks.

All three street circuits produced some of the season's highlights. In Monaco, Kimi Räikkönen landed [on pole for the first time in nine years](<https://www.thedrive.com/accelerator/10731/kimi-rikknen-scores-his-first-pole-since-2008>), but he succumbed Sunday to a teammate who had been quicker all weekend, save for his Q3 appearance, incensing some fans.

Azerbaijan produced a chaotic race too, with enough crashes, penalties, overtakes, and broken records to make it one for the record books. Singapore started with two historic firsts: The first wet night race, and a double retirement for Ferrari.

More about each of these Grand Prix weekends can be found in [my list of the 2017 F1 season's most controversial moments](<https://www.thedrive.com/accelerator/16642/the-8-biggest-formula-1-controversies-in-2017-explained>).

## Author
James is a former staff writer for The Drive. He has changed the conversation around electrification, debunked misinformation online, and become a prominent hunter of what he calls "automotive cryptids."

### Author social links  
[Instagram](<https://instagram.com/jamesgilboy>)