In a gripping moment during the Canadian GP qualifying, George Russell and Max Verstappen both clocked identical times in Q3. Despite this, it was Russell who secured the pole position.
Qualifying for the Canadian GP brought a rare and exciting scenario in Formula 1 when Mercedes driver George Russell and Red Bull’s Max Verstappen set the exact same lap time of 1:12.000. It has been decades since fans witnessed such a situation, the last instance being in 1997.
According to the FIA F1 Sporting Regulations, specifically Article 39.4 (iv), if two or more drivers set identical times, priority is given to the driver who achieved the time first. In this case, Russell set his time before Verstappen, granting him the pole position. Russell couldn’t improve on his time in another attempt, but his initial lead was enough to secure him the top spot.
This rule has stirred memories of the 1997 European GP when Michael Schumacher, Jacques Villeneuve, and Heinz-Harald Frentzen also set identical times. Villeneuve took pole position, having set his time first, and went on to win the championship following a controversial race.
Interestingly, while setting identical laps in qualifying has happened, it has never occurred in an actual race finish. The closest finish recorded was at the 2002 United States GP where Rubens Barrichello beat his Ferrari teammate Schumacher by just 0.011 seconds.
This rare event added an unexpected twist to the Canadian GP, with Russell taking his second career pole position. It goes to show that in F1, even the smallest details, like who crosses the line first, can make a significant difference.
Source: Motorsport
