Pierre Gasly has expressed his fear over starting next to Kevin Magnussen in the Qatar Grand Prix - potentially placing his remarkable F1 record at risk. Gasly, to date, is the only F1 driver not to cause any damage to his car in 2024, costing his Alpine team nothing in the so-called "destructors' championship." Magnussen is renowned as being a tough driver in wheel-to-wheel combat, with Frenchman Gasly set to start one place behind Magnussen in 11th place on the Lusail grid. There is also the subplot of the battle for sixth place and millions of dollars in constructors' championship prize money, with Magnussen's team-mate Nico Hulkenberg banking two points in the sprint to move Haas to 52 points, with Alpine on 49 and RB three further back on 46. "It would have been nice starting at the front, because Kevin is not the nicest guy to battle with," Gasly told media including RacingNews365. "I'm still on zero damage in the destructors' championship, so hopefully we'll keep it that way. "But we know that is our battle, [in the sprint, Haas] looked very strong, faster than us but it is a different race, it is much longer and Fernando [Alonso] also looked good in the sprint, making a step forward. "We'll be in the fight, and I'm sure they're all going to be putting it all on the table." When Gasly's fear was put to Magnussen, the Danish driver had a blunt response. In a simple one-word answer, Magnussen replied: "Good."
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