BOTTAS BANDINI
Valtteri Bottas arrived in style to collect the prestigious Lorenzo Bandini Trophy – at the wheel of a Mercedes Formula 1 car, of course…
A trip to Italy with Valtteri
Another time, another place, a long way and a different age from here and now. The Bandini Trophy still symbolises that romantic era of grimy, fearless gladiators: forever young in Kodachrome. It’s a generation symbolised by the devilishly handsome Lorenzo Bandini himself, who will never age beyond the 31 years he attained before he met the same sad fate as so many of his racing contemporaries.
Another world, really, but as his widow (of the past 51 years – they were married for just four) Margherita joyously pointed out at the packed annual Bandini Trophy ceremony: “Lorenzo never really died. Look at everyone here; he’s still living through all of us.”
As if Bandini’s story needed to be any more cinematic, he spent his early years in the impossibly beautiful town of Brisighella; all Palladian columns and pastel walls, not too far from Bologna. Margherita subsequently remarried and now lives in Milan, but Lorenzo’s sister Gabriella is still in Brisighella. As Margherita says, the legend lives on.
This region is the automotive heartland of Italy: home to Ferrari, Lamborghini and Ducati and also, in more recent years, Toro Rosso. That team has its roots, of course, in Minardi, also a part of the Bandini Trophy story, since Minardi Day takes place in Imola at the same time.
Bandini met his end in hospital in Monaco on 10 May 1967, three days after his Ferrari crashed and burned at the grand prix, the poignant final act in an almost predestined drama. And for the past 25 years a ceremony has been held in Brisighella to celebrate his short life.
Previous Bandini Trophy winners include a host of champions, but it’s not just drivers who pick up the awards – it’s also journalists,
sponsors and local celebrities. One of the things that makes the Bandini Trophy so special is the fact that it permeates every level of society.
And that’s fitting because the drivers of Bandini’s era were demi-gods to their followers precisely because they breathed the same air, not because they lived in a world apart. Their fans could practically smell the exhaust gases that lingered on their overalls, almost taste the sweat. That’s never been lost with the spirit of the Bandini Trophy: everyone is welcome to attend. And they do – in their thousands.
This year Valtteri Bottas was the recipient, a Finn as diametrically opposed to any Latin stereotype as it’s possible to get. But he shares many of the values and virtues that made drivers of Bandini’s era unique: humility, bravery, openness and simplicity, for example. Men of the people, who were genuinely liked – decades before Facebook and Instagram made ‘liking’ meaningless. Back then, their hearts were their profiles, their actions were their status updates.
It made no difference that, as a Mercedes driver, Valtteri was technically the ‘enemy’ in Ferrari territory. Even half an hour before the Finn’s helicopter was due to land at Imola (where he dropped in on the Minardi Day celebrations) there were crowds waiting at the helipad, clutching models, books, souvenirs and cameras. As soon as the rotors had stopped turning, Valtteri was out and mingling with them. Unhesitatingly. Just as Bandini and the others would have done more than 50 years ago – except possibly minus the helicopter.
“Italy is where you find the most passionate fans,” insists Valtteri. “There’s obviously a lot of love for Ferrari and their drivers, but you feel a lot of support whoever you drive for, and it’s just really nice to experience it. To see all the people coming here is amazing. I was really surprised that so many people were waiting for me.”
They were waiting not only to catch a glimpse of Valtteri himself, but also to witness a unique spectacle. To collect his Bandini Trophy, Valtteri would drive a 2016 Mercedes W07 from Faenza to Brisighella. An extraordinary eight-mile run along public roads: past street signs, traffic lights, shops, villages, people, schools, houses and ordinary traffic.
Technically, the road was meant to be closed, but there wasn’t always much evidence of that. Valtteri’s progress through the crowds was as close as we’ll get in the modern age to seeing Moses parting the Red Sea, albeit armed with something a bit more persuasive than a big stick.
On that day, Formula 1 truly came to the people. There wasn’t a single barrier or highvis jacket in sight. An unspoken part of this magnificent tribute to the past was a quietly glorious two-fingered salute to health and safety: a concept that would have been as unthinkable in Bandini’s day as Mars exploration. Back when he raced, circuits were lined with straw bales. These were removed only when they proved to be a contributory factor to the fire that killed him.
Bandini’s fatal accident, which took place at the harbour chicane in Monaco, was a spot he’d suggested to director John Frankenheimer for a crash scene in the legendary Grand Prix movie the year before. Yet Bandini had said in an interview: “I’m not superstitious at all. If you’re superstitious as a racing driver, you wouldn’t live life in peace, which is probably what you need most of all to compete. In any case, I hope to keep racing for as long as possible, because the day I stop racing, I’ll feel very old…”
He never stopped racing and never got to feel old. Instead, Bandini was the catalyst for something amazing that has become ingrained in the fabric of Italian motorsport along with the country’s other legendary events.
The sight of Valtteri’s thoroughbred Silver
Arrow charging its way past vineyards and fields conjured up long-forgotten images of the Targa Florio, for example, where gleaming factory race cars regularly threaded the eye of the needle against a backdrop of scooters, superannuated Fiats and beautiful everyday life.
The epic ‘Targa’ is a race that Bandini won in 1965, driving the sublimely pretty Ferrari 275 P2, the year before he was promoted to Ferrari F1 team leader following the sudden departure of John Surtees just after the start of the season. Bandini had actually been a Ferrari driver since 1962, driving in sportscars as well as Formula 1, but he was suddenly thrust into the front line owing to a world champion unexpectedly announcing that he wanted to be elsewhere. Does that sound familiar?
“I’ve done a few road shows before, like London last year, but this – this is quite a different experience,” says Valtteri before the start of his special drive, jostled by an affectionate mob (as well as a few drummers in medieval costume) at Faenza’s appropriately named Piazza del Popolo. “Thirteen kilometres along normal roads; it’s pretty amazing. I’ve no idea what to expect.”
Valtteri went to Faenza straight from Imola, visiting the town hall before heading into the packed piazza, like a prize fighter entering the boxing ring – or a gladiator stepping into the arena. His car was waiting, but he had to fight his way into the cockpit before nosing the Mercedes carefully through the crowds as he began his unforgettable journey.
Italy wears its past unselfconsciously, to the point where Valtteri’s Mercedes snaking its way through the ancient town, with its frescoes, cobbles and Juliet balconies, looked almost like it was meant to be there. In the old days, Ferrari (along with all the other manufacturers) would test their competition cars on public roads, while motorways were used to measure top speeds. Cars have been woven into society here since they were invented, a constant source of wonder and inspiration rather than disapprobation.
The W07 that Valtteri drove to Brisighella was remarkably ‘standard’, albeit with a taller ride height and slightly calmer power unit. In reality, there’s not much that can be done to adapt an F1 car for urban streets unless you’re talking about Monaco or Singapore.
“It’s not optimised for performance; it’s just optimised to make it work – but of course in a Formula 1 car the power is always there,” Valtteri explains. “Probably the most important thing is not to overheat the engine, because we are not going as quick as we would normally, but basically it’s still a similar car.”
That potential for overheating provides the perfect excuse to open the car up and let it breathe some Italian air, unfettered by the half-hearted police escort that’s meant to be leading the way. The walls and trees make the sound of the V6 hybrid sound louder and barkier than usual, as if the engine itself is celebrating a unique liberation.
Out of the town and into the rolling countryside, with people lining the route for more or less every inch of the way. A Silver Arrow targeting the scenery of Romagna, past vineyards and olive groves (because Brisighella is as well known for olive oil as it is for racing heroes). For the driver and his adoring spectators, it was simply an incredible experience from start to finish. Valtteri’s run finally ended – all too soon – in the main square of Brisighella, through which Bandini must have walked so many times as a boy.
Lorenzo was actually born in Libya in 1935, since his father owned a transport company, but the family soon returned to their stunning hometown, which clings to a hillside overlooked by an imposing castle. Brisighella has even been voted as ‘the most beautiful village in Italy’ by the Italian Touring Club – a title for which there must surely be plenty of competition.
Since it was established in 1992, the Bandini Trophy has been won by champions including Michael Schumacher, Kimi Räikkönen and Lewis Hamilton but also, more intriguingly, by Luca di Montezemolo (in 1997), Juan Pablo Montoya (2002), Robert Kubica (2008) and Bruno Senna (2012), as well as Mercedes themselves (in 2015).
“I MIGHT HAVE MISSED OUT ON A TROPHY IN BAKU, BUT I’VE GOT ONE NOW THAT’S EVEN BETTER”
The exact selection criteria are hard to discern, but this is exactly the point of an award that’s the very antithesis of data-driven. The recipient is chosen by a jury of 12, including local hero Giancarlo Minardi and renowned Italian journalist Pino Allievi.
In Valtteri’s case, it was all about his breakthrough season last year, claiming his first pole positions and wins to emerge as a genuine future title contender. And it’s also about him just being himself – a person whose integrity makes him truly worthy of the award.
The ceremony is a long one, with several prizes and medals handed out, then it’s a short walk to the gala dinner, held in the open air. By happy coincidence, the Emilia-romagna region happens to be the gastronomic capital of Italy, where delights such as tortellini and lasagne were invented.
“I’m a big fan of Italian food,” Valtteri announces with enthusiasm. “It doesn’t matter if you don’t eat pasta or pizza, because absolutely everything in Italy is good: even if you just have a salad, fish or meat. I spent a lot of my karting days in Italy, and I often take day trips out from Monaco to Italy on my bike, so it all feels very familiar.”
Valtteri moves at ease among the crowds, stopping for photos, stories and autographs. If his 2017 season, which earned him the trophy, was all about coming of age, 2018 has added the maturity that goes with it. He’s learned to be the complete driver: more than capable of taking the challenge to Lewis Hamilton. Or indeed anyone else.
“When I look at the names of the people who have won this trophy, it’s a very big honour and privilege to have it,” says Valtteri, who came to Brisighella straight off the back of a gutwrenching Azerbaijan Grand Prix, where he was deprived of victory in the final laps. “There are some real legends who have won this prize in the past, so a day like this gives me so much positive energy. I might have missed out on a trophy in Baku, but I’ve got one now that’s even better.”
And with those simple words, Valtteri seals his place in every Italian’s heart. Forever.
Nigel Roebuck’s Grand Prix Great on Lorenzo Bandini can be found on page 104