Oscar Piastri received the Lorenzo Bandini Prize.

      The Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix has not even begun yet, and Oscar Piastri has already received a prestigious award – the day before, in the Italian town of Brizigella, he was awarded the Lorenzo Bandini prize.

      A special commission, which includes 12 journalists writing about motorsport and former drivers, annually selects who will receive an honorary trophy with a ceramic model Ferrari 312/67, which was used by Lorenzo Bandini in Formula 1 in 1967.

      Piastri became the third Australian driver to receive this honor, after Mark Webber won the prize in 2006 and Daniel Ricciardo in 2014. The jury bases its choice not only on the results of the rider, but also on qualities such as determination, character and overall approach to business.

      Since the Australian national anthem was played at the award ceremony, Oscar gratefully accepted the prize and said: "I hope this is not the only time we will hear the Australian national anthem this week. It is a great honor for me to receive such a prize, and I consider it a very important award.

      Besides, I'm happy to meet the people living in these parts, where the Piastri family came from – it's all a very special experience, and I'm in a very positive mood this weekend."

      The Lorenzo Bandini Prize was established in 1992, and among its laureates over the years have been Michael Schumacher, Jacques Villeneuve, Jenson Button, Fernando Alonso, Kimi Raikkonen, Sebastian Vettel, Lewis Hamilton, Nico Rosberg, Max Verstappen and Charles Leclair. All of them, with the exception of Schumacher and Hamilton, were awarded this honor before they became world champions.

      Piastri's McLaren team-mate Lando Norris won the prize in 2023, and last year it was awarded to George Russell.

      Oscar became the winner of the Lorenzo Bandini Prize based on his results last year, when he won his first race and claimed the championship title. Before the Imola stage, he leads the individual championship standings with an advantage of 16 points.