James Gordon
Hanoi Road, where the Vietnam Grand Prix would take place.
The Vietnam Grand Prix has been removed from the calendar of Formula 1 2021, a recognised sport.
This raises doubts as to whether the race, which was to take place in April before it was cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic, can ever take place again.
The date of the race in Vietnam, April 25, is still on the agenda for the 22nd. in 2021, which will be published on Tuesday, without crew.
The schedule can be extended to 23 Grand Prix – a new record – if F1 can find a replacement for Vietnam.
The reason for this action was the arrest of an important official who was in charge of the race in Hanoi and who was accused of corruption.
The chairman of Hanoi’s People’s Committee, Nguyen Duk Chung, was arrested in August-August for allegedly appropriating documents containing state secrets.
In this case it’s not about his participation in the Grand Prix.
Cheung, however, was a key figure in the race, represented and defended with the national government. His absence created a vacuum and the Vietnamese authorities told Formula 1 that the government had other priorities, including major elections, a pandemic and the recovery of the typhoons.
Negotiations on a possible Vietnam race in 2022 are ongoing, but the situation increases the likelihood that this event will not take place.
Each replacement race takes place on one of the circuits added to the calendar this year as a result of the pandemic, including Turkey, Imola in Italy and Portimao in Portugal.
A spokesman for Formula 1 said… : Our schedule will be announced on Tuesday and we will not comment on it before it is published. It will also be submitted to the FIA World Motor Sport Council for approval.
The 2021 season, whose program was presented by Sport, is scheduled for 21 years. March in Australia and the 5th. December in Abu Dhabi.
The British Grand Prix at Silverstone will take place on July 18th and the new Saudi Arabia Grand Prix announced last week will take place on July 28th. November will be the penultimate race.
One of the most important events on the calendar is that there is a race in Brazil and that it takes place in Sao Paulo and not in Rio de Janeiro. For the time being, this event is shown as temporary.
The contract for the Interlagos circuit in São Paulo, where the event has been taking place since 1990, ended this year and Formula 1 signed a contract for a race on a new circuit that has not yet been built in the Deodoro district of Rio.
However, the Rio de Janeiro motorway requires an environmental permit because it involves the deforestation of a forest area.
This permission has not yet been granted and the project is clouded by contradictions and confusion, particularly that of world champion Lewis Hamilton, who expresses his disagreement with the track under construction.
Therefore, F1 plans to return to Sao Paulo – at least for 2021 and perhaps for the foreseeable future.
Formula 1 has political complications when it returns to Interlagos, because the owner of the sport Liberty Media refuses to negotiate with the promoter of the circuit, which is close to the former Formula 1 boss Bernie Ecclestone.
The race will probably be organized with a new promoter.
Otherwise, the calendar is very similar to the original calendar for 2020, which had to be revised after the cancellation of the first 10 races due to the pandemic.
The biggest change is the move of the Dutch Grand Prix from spring to 5th place. September, where it takes place one week after a neighboring Belgian tournament.
The race in the coastal town of Zandvoort was to take place in April this year for the first time since 1985, but fell victim to a pandemic.
Formula 1 is confident that it will be able to meet its schedule next year if the global pandemic does not worsen significantly.
2021 Formula 1 calendar
21. Mars: Australia (Melbourne)
28. Mars: Bahrain (Sakhir)
11. April: China (Shanghai)
25. April: TBC
9. Mei: Spain (Barcelona)
23. Mei: Monaco
6. June: Azerbaijan (Baku)
13. June: Canada (Montreal)
27. June: France (Le Castellier)
4. July: Austria (Spielberg)
18. July: Great Britain (Silverstone)
1. August: Hungary (Hungary)
29. August: Belgium (Spa)
5. September: Netherlands (Zandworth)
12. September: Italy (Monza)
26. September: Russia (Sochi)
3. October: Singapore (Marina Bay)
10. October: Japan (Suzuka)
24. October: United States (Austin)
31. October: Mexico (Mexico City)
14. November: Brazil (São Paulo)
28. November: Saudi Arabia (Jeddah)
5. December: Abu Dhabi (Yas Marina)
* = provisional agreement with the implementing entity of the project *
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