Williams F1 driver, Bruno Senna, has collected the Lorenzo Bandini Trophy awarded to him for showing great promise at the beginning of his racing career, and hopes that it will allow him to live up to that reputation in F1.
In front of a large crowd of enthusiastic grand prix fans in the picturesque Italian town of Brisighella, the presentation ceremony saw Senna presented with the trophy which honours the memory of Lorenzo Bandini, the leading Italian racing driver at the time of his tragic death at the 1967 Monaco Grand Prix. The trophy was presented to the Brazilian in an open air amphitheatre and is a ceramic replica of Bandini's famous number 18
Formula One Ferrari.
The trophy was first awarded to Ivan Capelli in 1992, and has become an annual pilgrimage for grand prix fans, who line the streets to pay tribute to the late
Ferrari driver while also celebrating their new heroes. Other former winners include Jacques Villeneuve, Felipe Massa, Robert Kubica, David Coulthard, Alex Wurz, Juan Pablo Montoya and Fernando Alonso, and Senna is keen to match up to their achievements in the top flight.
"We had a really sunny day and I felt extremely welcomed here by the people in Brisighella," he commented, "The event was a great success, with many of my Italian fan club also coming along, which was great to see. The town really came alive.
"I have to thank everyone at Trofeo Lorenzo Bandini and all the people involved in organising the event. It's a huge honour to be chosen to receive such a prestigious award. I've seen some of the names who have won this in the past and what they have gone on to achieve in their careers, so let's hope this is just the start of greater things for me too. I'm really happy I was able to be here to see it all come together and thank you again to everyone for letting me be a part of this special event."