Sebastian Vettel has named his 2018 F1 car ‘Loria’.
The four-time World Champion’s tradition of naming his car ahead of the start of the season dates back to 2008, when he named his Toro Rosso STR3 ‘Julie’. The names became more creative as the seasons passed, with ‘Kate’s Dirty Sister’ in 2009 and ‘Kinky Kylie’ in 2011 being particular highlights.
Since his move to Ferrari in 2015, his car names have had an Italian feel, with Eva, Margherita and Gina preceding 2018’s ‘Loria’. The meaning of the name Loria refers to the laurel tree, a tree symbolic of honor and victory. Vettel has said in the past that he and his mechanics choose the name over a dinner before the start of the season.
When asked in today’s Press Conference whether he has a master plan for the new season, Sebastian replied:
“Yes, all laid out – but it’s not with me, it’s in my room, so, of course, top secret, so I can’t give you any details.”
The 2018 Formula One season begins on Sunday in Melbourne.
After graduating in 2015 with a First Class honours degree in English Language and Literature, Nicky Haldenby, a lifelong fan of Formula 1, founded the Lights Out F1 Blog in 2016. Now in its sixth season, the blog has become a firm fan-favourite, delving deep into the sport’s history books and lifting the cover on unusual F1 statistics. Nicky also writes at F1Destinations and Motorsport Guides. In 2017 and 2018, he wrote for Badger GP. Nicky is also the host of the F1 Rewind Podcast and can be heard as the resident stats man on the 2 Soft Compounds Podcast.