“My Car Is Not Female!” : Max Verstappen Refuses to Fall for the Norm, Revealing His Nickname for RB19

A common practice adopted by many drivers in F1 is to give their cars a special name. The practice has become somewhat of a tradition now, and most drivers opt to give their cars a female name. However, three-time world champion Max Verstappen has opted to break the pattern and give his car a masculine name.

 

Speaking in an interview for a Dutch channel (clip uploaded on X by Nini), Verstappen revealed he opted against giving his car a female name, asserting it was a male entity.

“My car is not female, you know!”

“It’s a man! A male version!”

As the interviewer asked what the car’s nickname was, Verstappen replied, “Rocky.” Since its dawn, F1 has been a male-dominated sport, and giving his car a male name felt like the right thing to do for Verstappen. The RB19 has been a dominant force throughout the season, showing little vulnerability and obliterating all opposition with little challenge.

A champion driver and a near-perfect car partnership in Verstappen and the RB19 created the perfect duo for Red Bull to take one record after another. While there were always expectations of Verstappen winning the championship this year, no one thought that he would be able to win 20 races out of 21. While the driving skills of Verstappen are certainly a reason behind it, the technical mastery of the team’s engineers and designers to develop a car as mighty as the RB19 also deserve equal credit.

Unlike Max Verstappen, one of his Red Bull predecessors had a unique naming tradition for his cars

While Verstappen opted for a simple male name for his monstrous RB19, Sebastian Vettel had a unique approach when it came to naming his cars. The German started the tradition in his debut year with Toro Rosso in 2008, but the real fun started when he joined Red Bull a year later. During his time with the Austrian team, Vettel gave his cars names such as ‘Luscious Liz,’ ‘Kate,’ and ‘Kate’s Dirty Sister.’

In 2015, the German moved to Ferrari, and with the switch, he opted to switch his naming techniques. However, he did not drop the female name tradition while paying homage to the Italian team’s heritage and origin. He gave his Ferrari cars names such as ‘Eva,’ ‘Margherita,’ ‘Gina,’ and Lucilla,’ before heading over to Aston Martin.

As he joined his final F1 team in 2021, Vettel once again switched his naming traditions to keep in line with the history of Aston Martin. The car brand’s link with the popular James Bond movie franchise gave way to Vettel naming his car ‘Honey Ryder.’ The name was a nod to the Bond Girl played by Ursula Andress in the 1962 film, ‘Dr. No.’ Sadly enough, the German driver never named his last-ever car in the sport.