Lorenzo Bandini Trophy

The Lorenzo Bandini Trophy (Italian: Trofeo Lorenzo Bandini) is an annual award honouring an individual or team for their achievements in Formula One motor racing.[3] The award, named after the Italian driver Lorenzo Bandini, who died three days after suffering severe burns in a major accident at the 1967 Monaco Grand Prix,[4] was established by Francesco Asirelli and Tiziano Samorè of the Brisighella commune in 1992.[5] The accolade's trophy, a ceramic replica of Bandini's Ferrari 312/67 car adorned with the number 18 created by the ceramist Goffredo Gaeta,[6][7] is awarded for "a commendable performance in motorsport".[1] This is not based on race results, but on how the success was achieved,[8] as well as the recipient's character and approach to racing.[9] Each recipient is honoured for their achievements over the course of the previous year.[5] The recipient is selected by a panel of 12 judges composed of motor racing journalists and former Formula One team members.[10] Previously, the winner was decided by a vote from the residents of Brisighella.[4] The winner was honoured at a ceremony in Bandini's home town of Brisighella in Emilia-Romagna by the Associazione Trofeo Lorenzo Bandini but the ceremony is currently held in the city of Faenza.[lower-alpha 1][2][10]

In the motor racing world, the accolade is considered highly prestigious.[3][12] Ivan Capelli, an Italian driver, was the inaugural winner in 1992.[13] No award was given in each of 1993 and 1994 and no-one has won more than once because drivers are only allowed to be a named a recipient just once to give other racers the opportunity to win it.[5][13] Although the accolade is usually awarded to racing drivers for their achievements from the previous season, it has been awarded to four racing team members: the Ferrari president Luca Cordero di Montezemolo (1997),[13] the marque's vice-chairman Piero Ferrari (2013),[14] the Formula One CEO Stefano Domenicali and the Aprilia MotoGP CEO Massimo Rivola (2021); the latter two are the only joint recipients of the trophy in a calendar year.[15] The accolade has been given to two racing teams:[1][7] the Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team for winning the World Constructors' Championship with a V6 engine coupled with hybrid technology (2015),[1] and Scuderia Ferrari to commemorate the 70th anniversary of its establishment (2017).[7] It has been presented to Italian individuals and teams ten times, German and British competitors and constructors four times apiece.[13] The 2023 winner was the McLaren Formula One driver Lando Norris.[2]