The 2012 Lorenzo Bandini Trophy goes to Bruno Senna

Bruno Senna will be the recipient of the 2012 Lorenzo Bandini Trophy: the Williams driver will receive the award during a ceremony in the Romagna city of Brisighella on July 15th.

Created in 1992, the Lorenzo Bandini Trophy is an award in memory of the late Ferrari driver: Senna is the 19th driver of this prestigious award, which has seen Lewis Hamilton, Sebastian Vettel, Fernando Alonso and Michael Schumacher awarded over the years, among others .
The Trophy is in fact traditionally awarded to a driver who has shown great promise at the beginning of his career, and aims to remember the figure of Lorenzo Bandini, a driver from Romagna who raced with Ferrari from '62 to '67, until his tragic death during the Monaco GP in May 1967. The death of Bandini, much loved by Formula 1 enthusiasts of the time and by Italian Ferrari fans, left a great void in the automotive world. Over 100 thousand people attended the funeral, which took place in Reggiolo, a tragic precursor to another collective tragedy that occurred 34 years later, the death and subsequent funeral of Marco Simoncelli last October.

Speaking about the award, Bruno Senna commented: “It is a great honor to receive the Lorenzo Bandini Trophy, particularly when considering the excellent drivers to whom it has been awarded in the past. I would like to thank the people of Brisighella for their support, kindness and generosity, as well as everyone who has helped me in my career so far. I am very much looking forward to the awards ceremony next month, which promises to be a great event.". The Brazilian is right to be excited: it is customary for the winner to drive the 12 km from Faenza to Brisighella to reach the venue of the ceremony, between two rows of crowds of fans celebrating him. For the grandson of the great Ayrton, an important moment in his life, a few kilometers from where his famous and talented uncle died.

Lorena Bianchi