However, it was the Mercedes driver who took pole position, his second in F1 after the inaugural one in Hungary in 2022. It was the first time since 1997 that fans had witnessed such a situation.
What happens when two F1 drivers get the same time in qualifying?
The fourth paragraph of Article 39.4 of the FIA F1 Sporting Regulations, i.e. point (iv), states that: “If two or more drivers record identical times during Q1, Q2 or Q3 or SQ1, SQ2 or SQ3, priority will be given to the driver who did it first.”
In other words, the driver who set the time before the other has the advantage. In Canada, Russell set the fastest time and Verstappen matched him.
In reality, the Briton from Mercedes had another opportunity, in which however he was unable to improve, leading to the curious situation with him and Verstappen both credited with a time of 1’12″000.
The last time this happened
Michael Schumacher, Jacques Villeneuve and Heinz-Harald Frentzen recorded exactly the same time in qualifying for the 1997 European GP, a 1’21″072.
Pole position went to Villeneuve, who was the first to cross the finish line, and the next day he won the world championship after the well-known controversy with Schumacher.
At that time F1 qualifying was very different, with a one-hour session, so Villeneuve set his time 15 minutes ahead of Schumacher and Frentzen even later than the German.
Have two F1 drivers ever finished equal in a race?
No, it has never happened that two drivers reached the finish line of an F1 race in a draw.
The smallest gap at the end of a race occurred in the 2002 United States GP, when Ferrari achieved a one-two and Rubens Barrichello took the checkered flag with just 11 thousandths of a lead over teammate Schumacher.
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