However, it was the Mercedes driver who finished second in F1 following his debut in Hungary in 2022.
For the first time since 1997, fans have seen such a situation.
What happens when two F1 drivers qualify at the same time?
The fourth paragraph of Article 39.4 of the FIA F1 Sporting Regulations, i.e. (iv), states: “If two or more drivers set the same time during Q1, Q2 or Q3 or SQ1, SQ2 or SQ3, priority shall be given to the driver who set first”.
In other words, the driver who sets the time before the other driver is ahead.
In Canada, Russell set the fastest time, and Verstappen later matched it.
Indeed, the Briton had another shot in which he failed to advance, leading to a curious situation for him and Verstappen on laps of 1:12.000s.
This happened last time
Michael Schumacher, Jacques Villeneuve and Heinz-Harald Frentsen set the same time in the 1997 season of 1:21.072 to qualify for the European GP.
Pole position went to Villeneuve, who crossed the finish line first, and the following day he would win the world championship after a well-known dispute with Schumacher.
It was very different to F1 qualifying with the one-hour session format, so Villeneuve set his time 15 minutes ahead of Schumacher and Frentzen later than the German.
Have two F1 drivers ever tied in a race?
No, two drivers have never crossed the finish line of an F1 race.
A small gap occurred at the end of a race at the 2002 United States GP, when Ferrari achieved a one-two finish and Rubens Barrichello took the checkered flag 0.011s ahead of team-mate Schumacher.
