“I Was Playing With Hot Wheels” – Kimi Antonelli Reveals What He Remembers When Sebastian Vettel Made F1 History

2026 Formula 1 title favorite Kimi Antonelli recently said that he remembers playing with Hot Wheels cars as a young boy when Sebastian Vettel set the record of becoming the youngest F1 world champion in 2010. Antonelli, who was just four years old at the time, is now on the verge of breaking the German’s long-standing record.

“I don’t remember that. I was four years old,” Antonelli told Motorsports.com when asked about whether he remembered Vettel’s historic achievement. “I’m sorry. I remember I was playing with Hot Wheels, but I don’t remember him clinching.

“Later on, when I grew up, I saw the race, which was crazy as well because it was a very close title fight between all of you guys.”

Vettel won the 2010 Formula 1 championship at the age of 23. He finished fourth in a dramatic season finale in Abu Dhabi, beating Fernando Alonso, Mark Webber, and Lewis Hamilton to the title. It made him the youngest F1 champion, a record that could be broken this weekend in Austin.

What Vettel Feels About Kimi Antonelli Breaking His F1 Record

During the Italian GP last month, the four-time world champion revealed that he would be happy to see Antonelli break his record as F1’s youngest world champion.

Vettel earned this feat at 23 years, four months and 11 days old, after beating Lewis Hamilton’s 2008 record by five-and-a-half months.

16 years later, Kimi Antonelli has emerged as a potential contender to take that record away from the four-time World Champion at COTA.

The Mercedes driver heads to the United States Grand Prix with a 102-point advantage over his teammate George Russell. To break the record, he must win the race, with Russell finishing outside the top eight and Hamilton finishing outside the top four.

Antonelli Focuses on Winning More Races Rather Than Vettel’s Record

While the prospect of becoming F1’s youngest champion is an exciting one, Kimi Antonelli insisted that his primary focus remains on delivering strong performances rather than becoming fixated on the historical milestone.

“But I’ve still got to keep going, and the mindset is always the same, which is whenever I go on track to be at the top and to try and win as much as possible,” the 20-year-old said.

“Whether I win the championship, whether I win it this weekend or next weekend, or in Brazil, let’s see.”

Kimi Antonelli finished fifth and second in FP1 and FP2, respectively, on the opening day of the United States GP on Friday. His next order of business will be to contend for pole position on Saturday and starting the race from the best position possible.

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Written by

Yash Soni

Yash Soni is a Formula 1 writer with over four years of experience in digital sports journalism. He specializes in F1 news, race analysis, team updates, and paddock stories. With a strong focus on accuracy, research, and SEO-driven storytelling, he aims to deliver engaging and informative coverage that keeps motorsport fans up to date with the latest developments in Formula 1.

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