Sebastian Vettel says he would be “very happy” to lose his tag as the ‘youngest F1 world champion’ to runaway 2026 leader Kimi Antonelli.
Antonelli leads the points table by 66 points following his Italian GP success last time out, coming through from 19th on the grid to claim a historic victory, his seventh of the season.
With potential 10 races remaining, Antonelli holds a buffer of nearly three grands prix worth over George Russell, and a further buffer of seven wins to Russell’s two in case countback is required to seperate the two.
Having just turned 20 years old, Antonelli is on course to shatter Vettel’s record from 2010 by over three years, with the German, who was born on July 3rd, 1987, having won his first title on November 14th, 2010 – at the age of 23 years, 4 months, 11 days.
For Antonelli to beat that, the Italian, who was born on August 25th, 2006, must win the F1 title before Saturday, 5th January 2030.
If the 2026 season goes down to the final race, currently scheduled for December 6th in Abu Dhabi, but understood to be moving to Europe, Antonelli would be 20 years, 3 months, 12 days.
Addressing the prospect of losing the record he’s held for 16 years, Vettel was sanguine about the possibility.
“No,” Vettel told media, including RacingNews365, when asked if it would be bittersweet to lose his record to Antonelli.
“I’d be very happy for him. He’s had an incredible year, and there’s the old phrase that records are there to be broken.
“He still has a lot of years ahead of him to do so.
“I love the sport, so as a spectator, it’s very exciting. I’d wish for the others to come back and be more in the mix, but I’m sort of independent and happy for them because I know how much work there is behind it to achieve it.
“And whoever will win will deserve it.”