F1: The ranking of the most expensive drivers in accidents

Nearly three-quarters of the 2023 Formula 1 season is over and there have been numerous accidents. The drivers are constantly under intense pressure, but today’s accidents are particularly painful for the teams, as they are subject to a budget cap.

But who caused the most headaches for mechanics? Here are the drivers who caused the most damage in 2023 and those who caused the least.

The amounts given are limited to spare parts, do not take into account the engines and gearboxes, the cost of each component is an estimate.

Logan Sargeant n°1

Logan Sargeant finds himself at the top of an unfortunate ranking in Formula 1, officially costing his team the most money in terms of damages caused by an accident since the beginning of the year.

The Williams driver has experienced a significant decline in form recently, and has gone off track on numerous occasions in the past race weekends, notably at Suzuka where he went off in Q1. However, Dave Robson, the head of performance at Williams, has warned that in the event of another accident, the American driver could fall behind on the car’s specifications. « To a certain extent, you end up having to fall behind on specifications because for all the articles with long delivery times that then need to be shipped worldwide, it’s already too late to make more, really. Even if you had the money to do so ».

Dave Robson is discussing spare parts and their impact on Williams’ development for the upcoming season. « It probably won’t affect next year too much, as I believe we have enough spare parts. It’s simply a logistical exercise. How many parts do we want to ship to the circuit? What do we send to the next circuit? What do we return to the UK? So, I don’t think there’s too much panic. We’ll have to repair the chassis, which will take some time at the factory. But otherwise, we have enough things in hand to be able to continue. » Sargeant has accumulated nearly $4 million in damages, placing him at the top of the ranking. For comparison, his teammate Alex Albon ranks 5th with nearly $2 million in damages.

Lance Stroll runner-up

Lance Stroll also had a difficult year at Aston Martin, constantly being beaten by his teammate Fernando Alonso.

He currently holds the second position in this ranking, after having suffered one of the biggest accidents of the year in Singapore during the qualifications, causing damages amounting to 2.6 million dollars. Fernando Alonso, on the other hand, is second-to-last in this ranking with only 400,000 dollars of total damages.

Where do Hamilton and Verstappen rank?

Lewis Hamilton didn’t have the season he would have wished for with Mercedes, who continue to struggle for second place in the constructor’s championship.

However, the seven-time world champion has been almost flawless this year, even though he had a costly incident during the triple-header starting in Miami where he damaged his front wing. In the following Grand Prix in Monaco, he crashed out during FP3 and then collided with his teammate George Russell (15th with $700,000 worth of damage) during qualifying in Spain. Three incidents amounting to a total of 500,000 euros and an 18th place in the ranking of the “expensive” drivers.

At the very bottom of the list is Max Verstappen, who has only generated $200,000 worth of damages for Red Bull. The Dutch driver is having a dominant year and is on his way to a third world championship title. However, a collision in the Silverstone pit wall and an incident with George Russell during the sprint race in Baku have contributed to increasing his bill. But this remains significantly lower than the cost of his teammate Sergio Perez, who has incurred $2.5 million worth of damages and secures third place in this unofficial (and unflattering) ranking.

The costs of damages for F1 drivers after Suzuka