Baku qualifying moved to Friday as Antonelli's title lead grows to 81 points
Formula One's Azerbaijan Grand Prix weekend is compressed by Sunday's Remembrance Day holiday, with qualifying on Friday and Saturday's race following a Spanish Grand Prix that widened Kimi Antonelli's championship advantage.
Qualifying for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix takes place on Friday rather than the usual Saturday, with the session beginning at 1pm BST in Baku, according to Guardian Formula One.
The reshuffled schedule is not a repeat of Las Vegas-style late-night racing but a consequence of Sunday falling on Azerbaijan's Remembrance Day. The Grand Prix itself has been brought forward to noon BST on Saturday.
Eleven teams and 22 drivers will be chasing grid positions, with the outcome likely to shape the next stage of a championship fight that has opened up significantly in recent weeks.
The session comes a fortnight after the Spanish Grand Prix, where Lando Norris took pole position but saw what looked a near-certain win disappear.
A virtual safety car was deployed just after Norris had passed the pit entrance, a piece of timing that allowed almost the entire rest of the field to take a free pit stop, Guardian Formula One reports.
Kimi Antonelli was among those to benefit, despite being, as Guardian Formula One puts it, the driver least in need of a slice of luck. He converted the opportunity into victory in Spain.
That result extended Antonelli's lead at the top of the drivers' standings to 81 points, a gap that now frames every remaining round of the season.
George Russell has indicated he still intends to "keep fighting" for the title, according to Guardian Formula One, despite the widening deficit at the front of the championship.
Attention in Baku will now turn to whether Norris and his closest challengers can find the pace to arrest Antonelli's momentum, starting with Friday's qualifying and continuing into Saturday's race at noon BST.
