F1 fan presents World Destructor's Championship; Mick Schumacher is P1

Every driver on the F1 grid is acutely aware of the repercussions a crash has on his team, especially in the age of the cost cap. The highest echelon in the world of motorsports is a place where the engineering costs involved in designing and manufacturing the fastest racing cars on the planet reach astronomical heights. Recent regulations, such as the aforementioned cost cap introduced this season, are trying to control just that, giving smaller teams a better chance of fighting the top players, while leveling the playing field to some extent.

With crashes on the track an inevitable part of racing, a significant chunk of the team's budget goes into repairing their cars. Teams such as Mercedes and Ferrari, giants of the sport, are not as adversely affected by such write-offs as, say, smaller outfits such as Alfa Romeo or Haas. This in turn adds to the pressure of being a driver, where driving on the limit and achieving good results go hand-in-hand with preserving your machinery.

The 2022 season has seen several incidents on track, with 23-year-old Mick Schumacher leading the F1 'World Destructor's Championship', which is the sum of the cost of repairs a driver asks of his team. Compiled by a fan u/basspro24chevy on Reddit, the stats have been updated until Italy.

The Haas F1 driver has had two major crashes so far, the first of which came in the season's second race at the Saudi Arabian GP, where he crashed his VF-22 during qualifying. The major impact saw the car split into two halves as the gearbox detached from the chassis on the fastest street circuit of the season.

The second major incident came during the Monaco GP, where the Genolier, Switzerland native went off-line onto a damp patch on the track, causing him to spin in the swimming pool chicane. The aftermath of the crash spawned yet another Haas in two pieces along with a red flag. The estimated cost of the two crashes comes out to $2,047,000 and $1,100,000 respectively, not even taking into account a measly $125,000 for a front-wing change after Miami.

Standing in the runners-up spot is Williams F1's Nicholas Latifi, who had two major crashes earlier in the season. The first instance involved the Canadian crashing during both qualifying and the race at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit during the Saudi Arabian GP, rendering his car unusable after the weekend.

The second mishap took place during qualifying at the subsequent Australian GP when Latifi came together with fellow countryman Lance Stroll. The resulting impact sheered the wheel off Latifi's Williams and sent him into the wall. The total monetary damage to the team consists of $1,615,000 and $1,202,000 for the two incidents, along with $125,000 for two front-wing changes over the season.

Rookie Alfa Romeo driver Guanyu Zhou has also racked up repair bills as the Chinese national was involved in a serious crash at the start of the British GP. The incident saw his car flip upside down as the field squabbled for position when the lights went out.

The Sprint race at Imola also saw Zhou come together with Alpha Tauri's Pierre Gasly, causing him to end his race in the barriers. The repair bills for Zhou's Alfa Romeo cost the team $1,897,000 and $782,000 respectively, with $125,000 for a front-wing change in France.

As F1 heads to the Marina Bay Circuit in Singapore this weekend, hopefully no other driver will add to their tally of damage in massive amounts. Given the nature of the Marina Bay circuit, a street track known for its safety car appearances every year since its debut on the calendar, it seems more repair bills might be on the teams' way.

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Repair bills for teams might increase as F1 announces 2023 season schedule

The recently announced 2023 season calendar might spell even more expenses for F1 teams as the sport prepares to go racing a record 24 times next year. The increased number of races with weekends such as Las Vegas and the return of the Chinese GP on the calendar provides yet another opportunity for drivers to get involved in on-track mishaps.

With the current cost cap in place and teams already protesting against the same being set too low, we might see a revision in the total amount an F1 team is allowed to spend over one season.

Watch as F1 prepares to go night racing from Singapore this Friday for the return of the Singapore Grand Prix at the Marina Bay Circuit.