There is a possibility that Vietnam may host a race in the 2024 Formula One World Championship calendar. Stefano Domenicali, the CEO of F1 Group, has reportedly met with officials from Hanoi and Vietnam to discuss the prospect of hosting a race in Vietnam next year. Vietnam and South Africa are strong contenders to join the 2024 F1 calendar.
The first F1 race in Vietnam, the highly anticipated Vietnamese Grand Prix, was originally scheduled to be held in April 2020, but it was postponed due to the Covid pandemic. In March 2021, the race was indefinitely delayed, and eventually cancelled by Hanoi. Currently, most of the infrastructure for organizing the race in Hanoi has been dismantled, and the land has been returned by the Vietnam Grand Prix Co. to the Hanoi Department of Culture and Sports.
Forbes estimates that the cost of organizing an F1 race and maintaining the track every year can exceed $100 million. South Africa is also keen to host F1 for the first time in 31 years, at the Kyalami Circuit near Johannesburg. The country has agreed to pay $50 million for organizing the race in 2024, with the total cost potentially reaching $250 million.
If Vietnam were to join the F1 calendar in 2024, it would mark the first time that the country has hosted an F1 race. The proposed venue for the Vietnamese Grand Prix is the Hanoi Street Circuit, a temporary track located near the My Dinh National Stadium. The circuit was designed by Hermann Tilke, a renowned racetrack architect who has also designed other F1 circuits like the Bahrain International Circuit and the Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi.
Vietnam is not the only country in Southeast Asia that is interested in hosting an F1 race. In addition to Singapore, which has been hosting an F1 race since 2008, there are other countries in the region that have expressed interest in hosting a race, such as Indonesia and Malaysia. However, so far, no official plans have been announced for F1 races in those countries.
F1 races are known for their high costs, with hosting fees, track construction, and other expenses adding up to hundreds of millions of dollars. However, F1 races can also bring in significant economic benefits to the host country, such as increased tourism and business opportunities. In recent years, F1 has been expanding its reach to new markets, with races in countries like Azerbaijan, Bahrain, and Vietnam.
