Sebastian Vettel about how the name "Lina" was chosen for Ferrari's SF90 car

Scuderia Ferrari German driver Sebastian Vettel talks about how the name “Lina” was chosen for the Maranello team’s SF90 car in a special interview for the Bild newspaper:

“There were several suggestions on the table. In the end, two proposals were up for vote. There were twelve of us and when it was six to six, I withdrew my vote and told them to decide without counting my vote.” – Sebastian Vettel explained, as reported by the German media earlier today – “Then the Ferrari mechanics and Antti discussed it again and voted by a majority for the name “Lina” ” – he added.

The four-time Formula One world champion also revealed that there is no famous role model for the name Lina: “There is no special reference to the name, we simply liked it a lot.” – Sebastian explained.

Regarding the start of the 2019 Formula One season, Sebastian Vettel admits the unknowns of a new championship have left him a “bit nervous” ahead of the Australian Grand Prix. The general consensus is the German will start the weekend in Melbourne as the driver to beat, with the Italian team appearing to hold an advantage over Mercedes in pre-season. And speaking in the press conference on Thursday, Seb agreed that the Scuderia was in a “better position” to start the year than 12 months ago.

“Yeah, quite frankly because last year’s winter testing didn’t go well for us, and we actually had some issues with the car to fix. Obviously we got a bit lucky during the race weekend with the Safety Car to grab the win but I think in this regard [the performance] we’re more prepared. Our car seems to work fine, no problems at this stage.”

But given there is that expectation, Vettel admits nerves will be felt until a clearer picture emerges in qualifying on Saturday: “Obviously, we can’t do better than last year’s result,” he noted. “It’s a tough weekend ahead of us and always at the start you are a bit nervous, you don’t know exactly where you are or what is going to happen.” – he concluded.