Why Gasly’s ‘destructors’ championship’ claim is not true

Pierre Gasly claimed to have finished the 2024 F1 season having cost his Alpine team nothing in the so-called 'destructors' championship.'

The Frenchman had a very strong season for the team, with his late burst of form helping the team to climb from ninth to sixth in the constructors', a leap worth millions of dollars in prize money. 

However, the so-called unofficial 'destructors' championship' was also a prize Gasly wanted, in getting through the entire season without causing any damage to his Alpine A524 machine. 

It was claimed afterwards that he had done so after finishing seventh in Abu Dhabi, but it is not true to say Gasly did not cause any damage in 2024.

Events such as team-mate Esteban Ocon colliding with Gasly in Monaco or the Renault power unit opting to blow a hole in the sidepod after over-revving itself in Yuki Tsunoda's slip-stream in Las Vegas are not Gasly's fault and therefore do not count towards the total damages he is responsible for.

But in Japan, he did cause damage, coincidentally, with Ocon at the restart as the two cars brushed each other after Gasly's squeeze off the line. 

“The second start was very good, I managed to pass Esteban and go alongside Yuki, and then unfortunately I got sandwiched, with Yuki turning left and Esteban turning right," he told media including RacingNews365 at the time.

“He [Ocon] touched me and took the whole left side of my floor off the car.

“So I was down, the team thinks, a bit less than 40 points of downforce. So after that, it was pretty much game over. I was trying to stay out there hoping for another red flag to change it.

“That was it, pretty much, just a racing incident but it cost us a lot. It was a very, very long, very long, very difficult afternoon."


Article continues below. 

What Gasly said about his season

Heading into the Yas Marina finale, Gasly's fine form including a third in Sao Paulo, third on the grid in Las Vegas and fifth in Qatar meant Alpine was on course to finish sixth in the standings, ahead of Haas.

His P7 result, coupled with a P8 for Nico Hulkenberg, also meant the Frenchman stole in and grabbed P10 in the drivers' championship by one point. 

Reflecting on his season, it was exactly what he wanted.

"[Heading to Abu Dhabi], there were three targets: to get sixth in the constructors', 10th in the drivers' and to keep my nose clean so we're still on $0 in damage," he said. 

"We completed the targets."

As described above, Gasly was responsible for initiating the contact with Ocon at the Suzuka restart following the lap one red-flag, meaning the third of his targets was not quite met.