Alex Albon, Daniel Ricciardo, and 5 Formula 1 Drivers Leading the 2024 Destructors’ Championship

Formula 1 is a sport defined by its razor-thin margins, where every driver understands the impact a crash can have on their team, especially in the era of cost cap regulations.

Being the pinnacle of motorsports, the costs of engineering some of the fastest cars on the planet are staggering.

Recent regulations, like the cost cap introduced in 2022, aim to rein in these expenses, offering smaller teams a better shot at competing with the frontrunners and levelling the playing field to some degree.

However, it has to be emphasised that crashes are an unavoidable part of racing, and a significant portion of a team's budget is allocated to repairing the cars.

Through the 2024 season, Williams Racing have had to allocate a substantial budget to this aspect.

The damages incurred by the Grove-based team even forced them to field just one car at the Australian Grand Prix in Albert Park, instead of the anticipated two, due to the lack of a spare chassis for Logan Sargeant.

Williams are not the sole team grappling with crashes; the recent Miami Grand Prix was marked by a flurry of on-track incidents including Esteban Ocon's collision with Charles Leclerc in the pit lane and Lewis Hamilton's aggressive manoeuvre, which resulted in a crash involving Lando Norris and Lance Stroll during the Sprint Race.

This string of dramatic events experienced by F1 teams has given rise to the Destructors' Championship. This standing is designed to showcase the frequency of crashes endured by drivers and their teams, as well as the substantial costs incurred to rectify these incidents.

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In light of this trend, and with Formula 1 gearing up for the 2024 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix at Imola, Sports Brief turns its focus to the drivers leading the destructors' championship.

Formula 1 destructors' championship standings

Alex Albon - $2,040,750

The Williams Racing driver currently leads the standings following significant crashes at both the Japanese and Australian Grands Prix, which necessitated shipping his car back to Grove for chassis repairs. Thus far, in 2024, the British team has spent over $2 million rectifying the damage sustained by Albon's car alone.

Daniel Ricciardo - $1,222,000

The Australian driver is another who ranks high in the Formula 1 Destructors Championship.

The Visa Cash App RB (VCARB) driver has been involved in a flurry of crashes this season, but the event at the Chinese Grand Prix, which took out the rear end of his car, appears to be the most significant of the season so far. The Italian team has incurred crash expenses in excess of $1mil for Ricciardo's car so far.

Lance Stroll - $1,130,000

The Aston Martin driver has frequently found himself in the midst of the chaos that often unfolds during races. He was at the forefront of the chain of crashes that occurred at the Chinese Grand Prix.

The Canadian was also involved in an unfortunate incident with teammate, Fernando Alonso, as well as Lewis Hamilton at the Miami GP.

So far, Team Principal, Mike Krack, and the Aston Martin team have spent in excess of $1mil on repairs to the damages suffered by Stroll's car this season.

Zhou Guanyu - $1,082,000

The Kick Sauber driver also features on the Destructors Championship list. While the Chinese driver may not have endured as many crashes as others on the grid, his incidents, particularly during the Saudi Grand Prix Free Practice 3, seem particularly impactful.

The Sauber group has expended over $1mil to address the crashes and damages suffered by Zhou throughout the 2024 season.

Logan Sargeant — $959,000

To the surprise of many, the American driver isn't as high up on the list as anticipated at the start of the season.

However, the 23-year-old has endured several crashes this season, the most recent being at the Miami GP, where he was taken out by Haas driver Kevin Magnussen.

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McLaren driver, Norris, also makes the cut after his win at the Miami GP, having waited more than 100 races.