2024 F1 Canadian GP Full Starting Lineup: George Russell and Max Verstappen score exact same qualifying time

Holy Moly! That's the reaction everyone had as the 2024 Canadian Grand Prix qualifying wrapped up. For the second time in Formula 1's history, two drivers ended Q3 with an identical time. Mercedes' George Russell took the pole position with 1:12.000 on the timesheet, ahead of Red Bull's Max Verstappen, who clocked the same.

Despite finding an identical time, Russell took the pole position at Montreal. The reason? According to the rule, the driver who clocks the time first takes the position. McLaren's Lando Norris claimed P3 in Qualifying, followed by his teammate Oscar Piastri in P4.

Here is the starting grid for the 2024 Canadian Grand Prix on Sunday (June 9):

#1 George Russell - Mercedes

#2 Max Verstappen - Red Bull

#3 Lando Norris - McLaren

#4 Oscar Piastri - McLaren

#5 Daniel Ricciardo - Visa Cash App RB

#6 Fernando Alonso - Aston Martin

#7 Lewis Hamilton - Mercedes

#8 Yuki Tsunoda - Visa Cash App RB

#9 Lance Stroll - Aston Martin

#10 Alexander Albon - Williams

#11 Charles Leclerc - Ferrari

#12 Carlos Sainz - Ferrari

#13 Logan Sargeant - Williams

#14 Kevin Magnussen - Haas

#15 Pierre Gasly - Alpine

#16 Sergio Perez - Red Bull

#17 Valtteri Bottas - Kick Sauber

#18 Nico Hulkenberg - Haas

#19 Zhou Guanyu - Kick Sauber

#20 Esteban Ocon - Alpine

Ferrari, on a brilliant run of form off-late, could not make it to Q3. Both Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz saw themselves crash out of Q2 in P11 and P12, respectively.

When Verstappen took P2, his teammate Sergio Perez failed to clear Q1 once again. The Mexican driver arrived in Canada fresh with his contract extension but was unable to place himself in the top ten.

George Russell eyes the win in 2024 F1 Canadian GP

George Russell clinched a pole position for the second time in his career. With Max Verstappen and Lando Norris trailing behind, the pressure is on for the Mercedes driver.

Speaking about this in the post-qualifying interview, Russell said:

"It feels so good. So much hard work has gone in at the factory, and hopefully, it's the start of something for our season, we think it is."

"I missed this, it's such a good feeling. Excited for tomorrow - we have our eyes on that win. Let's go for it, the car has been feeling amazing since we brought those upgrades to Monaco," he added.

Edited by Pritha Ghosh