The Vietnamese Grand Prix has been dropped from the 2021 Formula One calendar. The race was set to be a street race in the capital of Hanoi and was due to make its debut in April this year but was cancelled due to the Covid-19 coronavirus pandemic.
The date of the expected 2021 Vietnamese Grand Prix – April 25 – has not been filled been on the 22-race Formula 1 schedule for 2021.
The 2021 season is currently scheduled to begin, as usual, with the Australian Grand Prix on March 21 and end with the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix on December 5. The new Saudi Arabian Grand Prix – announced last week – is currently scheduled to take place on November 28.
Most of the 2020 F1 races have been held either without fans completely or with limited amounts of fans but the chairman and chief executive officer of Liberty Media, F1’s ownership company, Chase Carey released a statement, saying: “We are planning for 2021 events with fans that provide an experience close to normal and expect our agreements to be honored.”
The elimination of the Vietnamese Grand Prix has come about after the removal of the race promoter following his arrest on corruption charges and the Vietnamese authorities subsequently informing F1 that their country no longer has an interest in hosting the race.
In another change, the re-instituted Dutch Grand Prix – originally scheduled to be held at Zandvoort in April – has been moved to September for the 2021 racing season.
2021 Formula One calendar
March 21 – Australia (Melbourne)
March 28 – Bahrain (Sakhir)
April 11 – China (Shanghai)
May 9 – Spain (Barcelona)
May 23 – Monaco
June 6 – Azerbaijan (Baku)
June 13 – Canada (Montreal)
June 27 – France (Le Castellet)
July 4 – Austria (Spielberg)
July 18 – Britain (Silverstone)
August 1 – Hungary (Hungaroring)
August 29 – Belgium (Spa)
September 5 – Netherlands (Zandvoort)
September 12 – Italy (Monza)
September 26 – Russia (Sochi)
October 3 – Singapore (Marina Bay)
October 10 – Japan (Suzuka)
October 24 – USA (Austin)
October 31 – Mexico (Mexico City)
November 14 – Brazil (Sao Paulo) – provisional
November 28 – Saudi Arabia (Jeddah)
December 5 – Abu Dhabi (Yas Marina)