George Russell, Max Verstappen Set Identical Qualifying Times For Pole In Canada

Qualifying ahead of the Canadian Grand Prix was very interesting from start to finish with some heavy hitters bowing out way too early, other teams showing unexpected pace, and rain threatening the entire time. 

However, the most stunning moment came at the very end with two drivers — Mercedes' George Russell and Red Bull's Max Verstappen — setting identical lap times on their final runs.

The field got thinned out a little thanks to Verstappen's Red Bull teammate Sergio Perez getting eliminated in Q1 for the second straight weekend, and both Ferrari's getting eliminated in Q2 when a tire gamble fell completely flat.

So, with some heavy hitters out of the way, Russell and Verstappen found themselves topping the timing charts late in the session.

Just think about that for a moment. That track is 2.710 miles long, and this is a sport where the tiniest error you could possibly cost you fractions of a second. Yet those two dudes set identical times to the thousandth of a second.

F1's tie-breaking procedure in a scenario like this is pretty simple: whoever sets the time first, gets the better starting position. This means that George Russell will be the pole-sitter on Sunday.

We've had some amazing close finishes across sports this year from the Kentucky Derby to NASCAR, and now a heck of a qualifying session in F1.

This is actually the second time drivers have set identical times for pole. Crazily enough, the other time was at the 1997 European Grand Prix when three drivers set identical times, with Jacques Villeneuve starting on pole ahead of Michale Schumacher and Heinz-Harald Frentzen.

Elsewhere on the grid, Aston Martin and RB managed to get both of their cars in the top 10, while Williams' Logan Sargeant made his first Q2 appearance of the season.