The biggest crashes of the 2024 Formula 1 season including 68G impact and huge George Russell shunt

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The 2024 Formula 1 season was one of the most severe in the sport’s recent history when it came to accidents. Multiple teams faced cost-cap constraints as a result of damage costs.

Chief amongst those was Williams. Between Alex Albon, Franco Colapinto and Logan Sargeant, there were 16 shunts.

The result is that Williams are likely to breach the budget limit for the season. They’ve simply spent too much on spare parts.

Any penalty will depend upon the extent of the breach. Red Bull escaped with a fine and a wind tunnel reduction after a minor 2021 infraction, though the latter would be particularly costly in 2025 ahead of the regulation changes.

At the other end of the grid, Mercedes had to curb developments after a spate of accidents in the second half of the season. Sergio Perez was one of the biggest offenders for crash damage, but fortunately for Red Bull, his world champion teammate Max Verstappen broadly kept things clean.

Yuki Tsunoda had the biggest crash of the 2024 F1 season ahead of George Russell

The G-force data isn’t publicly available for every crash, but it tends to be released when the impact is particularly severe. The highest on record this year was Yuki Tsunoda’s 68G shunt at the Hungarian GP in July.

In a seemingly innocuous incident, Tsunoda ran wide on the exit of turn five, only for his car to launch into the barriers and clatter back down onto the tarmac. He was still able to start the race from P10 and score points.

Kimi Antonelli suffers the ignominy of placing second on the list despite not being a full-time driver. Making his FP1 debut for Mercedes at his home race in Italy – just a day before he was announced as Lewis Hamilton’s replacement – he lost control of his car at Parabolica and smacked the tyre barriers side-on.

Martin Brundle called Antonelli the ‘luckiest driver ever’ afterwards because Mercedes offered comfort rather than a rebuke. However, Williams driver Colapinto wasn’t spared when he hit the wall at 50G in Las Vegas Q2.

Colapinto hit the inside wall at turn 16 and scattered his car along the barriers on the exit Williams mechanics were ‘crying’ afterwards, according to Giedo van der Garde, and the Argentine had to pass a fitness test before he was cleared to race.

George Russell notched 30 times the force of gravity when he hit the wall at the Mexico City GP in practice. While it looks comparatively tame against Tsunoda’s crash, he still had to visit the medical centre after spinning out on the turn-eight kerb.

Were these the most expensive crashes of the 2024 F1 season?

Colapinto’s Vegas smash was the most problematic, even if it wasn’t the most severe. It came in the aftermath of surely the season’s biggest repair job.

Williams amassed seven figures’ worth of damage in one weekend alone at the Sao Paulo GP. Albon wasn’t even able to take part in the race after wrecking his car in qualifying.

In the treacherous conditions, Colapinto crashed out of both rescheduled Sunday sessions, including a race-ending incident under the safety car. It was no wonder that the entire F1 pit lane felt sorry for Williams, above all their pit crews.