Hot Wheels x Formula 1

Making a five-year-old look like a real Formula 1 team principal.

Brand Mattel

Brief Hot Wheels' first Formula 1 partnership needed a moment that belonged to kids rather than collectors. Something a child could win, wear, and be taken seriously in.

Role Ideated the kit the winners received, designed every piece of it, and worked with production vendors to get it made.

Execution Mattel ran a global search for the first Hot Wheels Tiniest Team Principal, picking one winner each from the United States, the United Kingdom, and Mexico. The kit had to do the hard part: make a kid look like an actual member of the team rather than a child in a costume. [Name the pieces: suit, credentials, headset, whatever it was.] Winners flew to Hot Wheels headquarters in El Segundo to meet the design team and help design their own car.

Outcome Entries were judged by Formula 1 CEO Stefano Domenicali, 2009 world champion Jenson Button, and Hot Wheels' own design leadership. The search ran across three countries and was covered by Newsweek and The Race.