Formula 1 is a tight race. In 2024, qualifying after qualifying will be about decisions made in thousandths of a second, and if several cars are regularly within a tenth of each other, then it is not surprising that at some point two drivers will set the same lap time. In Canada, this even happened in the battle for pole between George Russell and Max Verstappen. But was that the closest pole in history? No!
First of all, it should be said that time ties occur from time to time in Formula 1. Not necessarily in the fight for pole position, but today the field is so tight and the performance density is so high, and it is “only” measured in thousandths. The sporting regulations have also taken precautions and defined clear rules for the case of a “dead heat” at the front.
This can be found in the current Sporting Regulations under Article 39.4 (iv). If two or more drivers set the same time in any qualifying session, priority is given to the driver who set the same time first. This is how Russell took his pole in Canada. He set the 1:12.000 first.
Jerez 1997: 3 drivers set the pole time
But how can it be even closer than in Canada in 2024? It’s simple: by having more drivers set the pole time. That’s exactly what happened on one of the craziest weekends in Formula 1 history, namely in 1997 at the season finale in Jerez. This qualifying can still boast of having seen the closest pole decision of all time, with three drivers setting a time of 1:21.072, down to the thousandth of a second.
The drama was made all the greater by the fact that two of these three drivers, Jacques Villeneuve and Michael Schumacher, were in the middle of the battle for the World Championship. Villeneuve, who would ultimately win the title, opened the time trial. Schumacher’s counterattack produced the identical result, down to the thousandth of a second. And finally, Villeneuve’s Williams team-mate Heinz-Harald Frentzen rounded off the trio.
Lando Norris would have had to find another 21 thousandths in 2024 to raise qualifying to Jerez level. But just like in Canada in 2024, there was actually the potential to drive faster in Jerez in 1997. In Canada, Russell’s pole time was slower than his Q2 time. The tie with Verstappen only came about because Mercedes, for some unknown reason, was unable to improve as expected on its last new set of tires in Q3.
And in Jerez? The fastest time of the weekend belonged to McLaren driver David Coulthard with 1:20.738. But he drove that time in the second practice session. To be more precise, both Coulthard and his teammate Mika Häkkinen probably had the pace for pole position in their cars, but traffic and a ride off by Coulthard ruined their chances. But they won the race.
To achieve the drama of this race, Canada would have to stretch itself in 2024. Jerez 1997 has its place among the most famous Grands Prix of all time, and not just because of the qualifying threesome. In the race, Schumacher, who saw his World Championship slipping away, rammed his World Championship opponent Villeneuve. An action for which he was subsequently completely removed from the World Championship rankings. More about Jerez 1997 can be found here: