Ousted Formula 1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone has said that he rejected plans to add a Vietnamese grand prix to the race calendar.
The 86-year-old, recently stepped down as the sport's chief executive by new owners Liberty Media, was criticised in the past for adding races to the calendar that lack fan support but pay premium race fees.
Yet Ecclestone told F1 business journalist Christian Sylt that Vietnam was rejected last year because it lacked "racing history", while F1 "already has several races in the region".
Ecclestone also told The Independent: "I could have done the deal and signed it in August."
However, he rejected the Vietnam deal, also explaining: "It hasn't got any racing history at all.
"So I didn't want to put another race in the same sort of area where we already have very good promoters. And I was criticised for putting the races in Baku and in Russia because they hadn't got that much racing history."
The second of the 2017 season's 20 races takes place in Shanghai on Sunday.
