Vettel will wait for “more pace” before naming Aston Martin F1 car

Four-time F1 world champion Vettel had traditionally given his cars a nickname on the eve of each new season after discussions with his engineers and crew.

Vettel began the tradition at Red Bull before adopting Italian names for his cars during his time with Ferrari, such as Gina and Loria. He opted to call his first Aston Martin car in 2021 Honey Ryder after the Bond girl from the Dr. No film given the manufacturer’s ties with the franchise.

Vettel said ahead of the new season that he was already starting to think of some possible nicknames for the Aston Martin AMR22, but didn’t get the chance to take part in the first two races after testing positive for COVID-19.

Vettel has returned to the cockpit for round three of the season in Australia this weekend, but confirmed he has broken tradition by not yet picking a name for his car.

“No, we’ll wait for a bit more pace, and then think of a name,” Vettel said.

“Maybe we’ll take a little bit more time than usual.”