Vettel reveals James Bond-inspired name for first Aston Martin F1 car

Sebastian Vettel has chosen to name his Aston Martin Formula 1 car after the first James Bond girl, Honey Ryder.

The four-time world champion, who has joined the rebranded Aston Martin squad for the 2021 season following his departure from Ferrari, revealed ahead of this weekend’s Bahrain Grand Prix the name he has given to his first Aston Martin F1 car - the AMR21.

Vettel’s name choice pays homage to Swiss actress Ursula Andress’s portrayal of the first ‘Bond girl’ in the 1962 film Dr. No, which starred Sean Connery as James Bond. 

Asked what his favourite James Bond film and car is during the drivers’ press conference in Bahrain on Thursday, Vettel replied: "I think the DB5 is probably the most iconic car. I think it's a very, very cool car and it's nice that it came back some some years ago.

“Favourite movie? Favourite Bond? I think Sean Connery and to be fair Piers Brosnan. That's my youth but yeah, Sean Connery. I think just very good style.

“And which movie? I quite like the first one. It kicked it off, obviously because of Honey Ryder.”

Although Vettel admitted he felt around “100 laps” short of the mileage he would have hoped to have completed during a troubled pre-season test in Bahrain, the German remains confident he can still get up to speed quickly.

“Obviously we didn't get maybe the amount of laps we're looking for but it is what it is,” he explained. “I don't think that any anyone is really fully prepared for what's coming.

"We have a lot of races and we didn't have a great amount of testing, but yeah that's what it is. So I'm confident that we should be in a reasonable position. Hopefully we can use the track time that we have, and get on top of it straight away to get ready for qualifying and then the race."

Speaking about adjusting to Aston Martin’s 2021 challenger, Vettel added: “I’m quite happy. I think I felt quite comfortable straightaway despite the little running, I think I think I got along with the car.

“There's some things that I still need to work on and I need to get used to, but I think time will take care of these things. Even with more laps in the test, there will still be some things that would need some getting used to. So, yeah, I'm pretty relaxed. I think it will be okay.”