Max Verstappen was denied his eighth pole position this year by the smallest margin possible under Formula 1’s rules.
The Red Bull driver matched George Russell’s provisional pole position time – a numerically satisfying 1’12.000 – to within three thousandths of a second.Under a long-standing F1 rule, Russell was declared the pole winner because he set the lap time first. This rule has only been invoked once before in almost 50 years.
That occasion was the famous three-way tie for pole position at the 1997 European Grand Prix. The circumstances of this tie were so outrageous it provoked outlandish claims it had somehow been rigged. Not only did Jacques Villeneuve and Michael Schumacher produce the same lap time as they fought over the championship at the final race of the year, but so did Heinz-Harald Frentzen.
Back then the vagaries of different local racing organisations dictated how accurately lap times were measured. Most tracks timed cars to one decimal place, but this wasn’t done at Spa-Francorchamps in the first year of the world championship, Giuseppe Farina and Juan Manuel Fangio shared fastest times of four minutes and 37 seconds around the 14-kilometre circuit.
Silverstone saw the most pole position ties, two of which occured when lap times were only measured to the second. But even as timing to one decimal place became common, ties continued to happen.
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A record four-way tie for pole position occured at another British Grand Prix venue, Aintree, in 1961. Three of the four Ferrari drivers produced the same time (Giancarlo Baghetti was several seconds off his team mates) along with Porsche’s Jo Bonnier.
With the advent of computerised timing to three decimal places in the eighties, it seemed the days of pole position ties might be over. That made the well-remembered three-way tie of 1997 all the more remarkable.
Until yesterday that was the only time drivers had tied for pole position in the ‘three decimal place’ era. With the field closing up, and other short tracks such as the Red Bull Ring and Interlagos still to come, it may be time for F1 to consider using four decimal places, as IndyCar has done for over two decades.
Drivers who tied for pole position
Year | Circuit | Lap time | Drivers | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1950 | Spa-Francorchamps | 4’37 | Giuseppe Farina Alfa Romeo |
Juan Manuel Fangio Alfa Romeo |
||
1952 | Silverstone | 1’50 | Giuseppe Farina Ferrari |
Alberto Ascari Ferrari |
||
1955 | Monaco | 1’41.1 | Juan Manuel Fangio Mercedes |
Alberto Ascari Lancia |
||
1956 | Silverstone | 1’41 | Stirling Moss Maserati |
Juan Manuel Fangio Ferrari |
||
1958 | Porto | 2’34.2 | Stirling Moss Vanwall |
Mike Hawthorn Ferrari |
||
1959 | Zandvoort | 1’36.0 | Jo Bonnier BRM |
Jack Brabham Cooper |
||
1959 | Aintree | 1’58.0 | Jack Brabham Cooper |
Roy Salvadori Aston Martin |
||
1961 | Zandvoort | 1’35.7 | Phil Hill Ferrari |
Wolfgang von Trips Ferrari |
||
1961 | Aintree | 1’58.8 | Phil Hill Ferrari |
Richie Ginther Ferrari |
Jo Bonnier Porsche |
Wolfgang von Trips Ferrari |
1968 | Mont Tremblant | 1’33.8 | Jochen Rindt Brabham |
Chris Amon Ferrari |
||
1970 | Kyalami | 1’19.3 | Jackie Stewart March |
Chris Amon March |
||
1970 | Brands Hatch | 1’24.8 | Jochen Rindt Lotus |
Jack Brabham Brabham |
||
1971 | Silverstone | 1’18.1 | Clay Regazzoni Ferrari |
Jackie Stewart Tyrrell |
||
1974 | Brands Hatch | 1’19.7 | Niki Lauda Ferrari |
Ronnie Peterson Lotus |
||
1997 | Jerez | 1’21.072 | Jacques Villeneuve Williams |
Michael Schumacher Ferrari |
Heinz-Harald Frentzen Williams |
|
2024 | Circuit Gilles Villeneuve | 1’12.000 | George Russell Mercedes |
Max Verstappen Red Bull |
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Euro Brun (@eurobrun)
9th June 2024, 11:34
But in those pre-97 ties, how did they actually determine who physically got pole? Toss of a coin?
Dimitrios (@strife07)
9th June 2024, 13:17
I did some research.
On the first occasion (1950 Spa), Farina took pole position due to the fact that his second fastest lap was faster than that of Fangio.
By the time we reached the second occasion (1952 Silverstone), the pole position went to Farina on the basis of the current tie-breaker.
Euro Brun (@eurobrun)
9th June 2024, 16:01
Thank you @strife07
An Sionnach
9th June 2024, 11:40
Great! Enjoyed this, thank you very much! I expect it was easier to get the same time on the older tracks where you were flat out most of the time. Silverstone used to have a very simple layout. Spa was flat out… but incredibly dangerous, so fair play to Fangio for matching Farina there! Of the others… yes, there are straights, but… and Monaco, too! Well…
Napier Railton (@napierrailton)
9th June 2024, 11:49
Kind of blows my mind that they were still using tenths of seconds (only 1 decimal place) in 1974
I guess they didn’t have the computer controlled timers at this point.
An Sionnach
9th June 2024, 11:52
I’d like to see the watch(???) they used to measure the times to tenths of a second in Monaco in 1955!
Michael A.
10th June 2024, 9:39
To An.
I was in the Vanwall pit in 1957 at Aintree where there was a fellow operating three stop watches fixed across the top of a clip board and writing lap times on the chart below the watches.
Great photo of Stirling followed by Mike Hawthorn – thank you for that!
Dimitrios (@strife07)
9th June 2024, 13:03
Such a fascinating read, thank you Keith!
notagrumpyfan
9th June 2024, 13:42
I understand that the timing technology (loop and transponder) allow to accurately determine times to 1/10,000 of a second.
But I’m happy to keep the first-come, first-served practice rather than cluttering the timing sheets with more digits.
Rhys Lloyd (@justrhysism)
10th June 2024, 11:52
I mean, they could just reveal the 4th decimal place when it happens, right? No need to show it all the time.
David
9th June 2024, 13:53
Much less likely in the modern era due to the timing accuracy, surprised it didn’t happen more often when timing to the nearest second.
Riccard
9th June 2024, 16:35
Cars simply weren’t as close in the past. The excitement came from reliability – you were never quite sure whether the fastest cars could keep running, or stay out of the wall.
Red Bull’s advantage through 2023 and 2024 would literally have been a rounding error in the early years: not even measurable.
Rosa (@ciaran)
9th June 2024, 17:22
It’s testament to the stunning consistency in speed of modern F1 cars and drivers that this happened. Unless it becomes a persistent issue (doubtful?) I wouldn’t bother with adding another unit of precision onto the timings. Having this happen was a very fun coincidence that got people talking!
Dusty
9th June 2024, 17:23
Imagine the number of drivers tied for pole every modern GP if they were relying on second or tenth of second precision.
José Lopes da Silva
12th June 2024, 14:03
Very nice article, thanks.
It would be interesting, in the upcoming summer break, to do this exercise for positions other than pole – has there been ties?
The above mentioned question by Dusty would be also interesting to check.