Superstar. There is no better definition for Lando Norris upon his arrival in Faenza to collect the 2023 Bandini Trophy. The thirtieth edition of the event dedicated to the Ferrari driver who was the victim of an accident at the 1967 Monaco Grand Prix saw the McLaren driver not only as an “institutional” protagonist but also a catalyst for a real crowd surge throughout the morning.
The greeting on the square
After landing in Forlì and the short transfer by road through the areas most affected by last May's flood, Lando arrived punctually in the splendid Piazza del Popolo where several hundred fans had been waiting for him since early morning. Many young people, especially girls, who literally showered the young English driver with affection.
Some wanted an autograph, some a selfie, some made their way with a hat or a McLaren model. An enthusiasm that surprised but did not embarrass Norris, a true idol thanks to his activity on social media and in “Sim-Racing”, who willingly lent himself to the collective embrace together with Team Principal Andrea Stella, until the intervention of the the police allowed him to reach the town hall, where the press conference was held.
An incredible welcome
“An incredible welcome” were Lando's first words as soon as he sat in front of the microphones to begin analyzing the season just gone by, underlining the incredible leap in performance of the MCL60 with the updates put on track starting from the Grand Prix of Austria. A series of developments that ensured a considerable increase in downforce and made Norris feel ready for the challenge with Verstappen.
Photo by: Franco Nugnes
Lando Norris at the Bandini Trophy awards ceremony
Speaking about his present, he said: “It would be nice to get my first victory, without a doubt. I think I have many years ahead of me and doing them with McLaren is my goal. But when I win I will want to do it while fighting for the championship at the same time. As far as you love to win, I don't want to just be lucky in a single race of a season, but I want to win many races! I'm hungry… [ride n.d.r.] I think we're still missing small, small things, when we have them all this will really be possible.”
Teased about what he could improve in this Formula 1, Lando was thoughtful: “I don't know, it's a really difficult question because I've been following Formula 1 for many years, since I was a child. […] now several things have changed. It's all for the fans, everything for the show available to everyone and things always change over time. But I love her the way she is […] I love competing and improving performances with the team I race for, I think about it every day, but obviously I like that in Formula 1 each team is on its own and everything depends on itself.”
“Designing the best car and making it with rules but not too many rules: I believe that Formula 1 should always be like this. Special because you can create and design the best car by finding the best ideas. At the same time there are the best drivers and I think is something we also have now. I would simply give more flexibility to the technicians and teams to design, making them a little more free, maybe that's what I would like.”
Also surrounded by a forest of microphones was Andrea Stella, fresh from his first intense season as Team Principal, who highlighted the team's commitment to the growth of young drivers and showing clear satisfaction for the current McLaren pair. “Oscar Piastri was a rookie, but he approached the races with the approach of an expert driver. Lando Norris, although still very young, already has five seasons in Formula 1 behind him and every year he manages to significantly improve his performance.” There was even a small mention of the FIA investigation which was later withdrawn against Toto and Susie Wolff, defining the incident as something that did not concern his team but which could have been avoided.
Photo by: Claudio Fargione
The mayor of Faenza Massimo Isola, Lando Norris and McLaren Team Principal Andrea Stella at the 2023 Bandini Trophy awards ceremony
Ceremony with many prize winners
After the transfer to the Palazzo del Podestà with access allowed to around a hundred enthusiasts who had booked online (the requests were sold out in a few minutes) the awards ceremony began with the honors of Carlo Costa, not only a historic speaker of the Imola Autodrome but also presenter of the Bandini Trophy since the first editions. Many personalities were at the center of the awards including the young driver from Faenza Andrea Frassineti, involved in Formula 4, Manuele Mengozzi, protagonist in the Italian Cross Country, and the journalist Ivan Epicoco.
The cross between pedal and motor two-wheelers is interesting, with the former technical commissioner of the national cycling team Davide Cassani awarding the Aprilia MotoGP tester Lorenzo Savadori accompanied by Team Principal Massimo Rivola, a thoroughbred from Faenza. Awards dedicated to communication for the guys from “F1 Dimenticata”, a YouTube story telling channel on the top formula with over 200,000 subscribers, and for the Italian-Japanese manager Mario Miyakawa, a well-known face of SkySportF1. Special award to Isotta Fraschini, ready to make her debut in the WEC and represented by the president Alessandro Fassina together with Giuliano Michelotto, awarded the Emilia Romagna Region medal for his activity as a builder of the Type 6 LMH.
Lando true protagonist
Photo by: Claudio Fargione
The audience's very warm greeting to Lando Norris
After the recognition given to Andrea Stella, the spotlight was all for Lando, who collected the precious trophy which represents the Ferrari 312 number 18 in a stylized form. Appearing significantly touched by the words of greeting sent by Margherita Bandini, Lorenzo's widow, Norris expressed his personal reflection on how grateful he should be to him and to the other drivers who lost their lives racing but at the same time giving the opportunity to make enormous steps forward in the field of safety for cars and tracks.
Joking about the absence of champagne next to the prize to avoid a “déjà vu” of Budapest, the time has come for a goodbye and a goodbye to the 2024 edition. Lando has made an appointment at Imola, one of the tracks he says he prefers. Who knows, the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix might be the scene of his first long-awaited victory.
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