A rather tame successor to Kate's Dirty Little Sister, Luscious Liz and Hungry Heidi
Thursday 7 November 2019 12:08, UK
Sebastian Vettel has continued his tradition of giving his cars a girl's name by calling his second Ferrari 'Margherita' ahead of the start of the new season.
Vettel's Red Bulls had exotic names such as Kate's Dirty Little Sister, Luscious Liz and Hungry Heidi, while 2015's SF15-T at Ferrari was was given the moniker Eva.
The German, however, laughed off suggestions that he had named his 2016 machine, the SF16-H, after a pizza.
"It's not named after a pizza. It's a name, first of all!", he said at the first press conference of the season.
"We like the name, every year we give the car a name. Last year it was Eva, this year Margherita, so we're happy with that."
Daniel Ricciardo, sitting next to the four-time world champion, first quipped that it was a cocktail before making reference to the Italian pizza.
His former team-mate responded with a joke of his own: "No, because it is a drink!"
Vettel, who has claimed victory at Albert Park just once before, is cautiously optimistic about Ferrari's pace going into the season-opener this weekend.
Ferrari are without a Constructors' Championship since 2008 but seemed to be closer to Mercedes in pre-season testing, prompting talk that they could end their eight-year drought this year.
"I think we have [enough to trouble Mercedes]," he added in Melbourne. "The question is whether we are ready in time.
"But we are making progress. And we have made a step over the winter. But our target is to turn things around. Mercedes are still the favourites but we are trying to become the favourites."
The first race of the 2016 F1 season, the Australian GP, is exclusively live on Sky F1. The race in Melbourne starts at 5am on Sunday March 20. Or watch for £6.99 without a contract, on NOW TV.
