[3] The award, named after the Italian driver Lorenzo Bandini, who died three days after suffering severe burns in a major accident at the 1967 Monaco Grand Prix,[4] was established by Francesco Asirelli and Tiziano Samorè of the Brisighella commune in 1992.
[5] The accolade's trophy, a ceramic replica of Bandini's Ferrari 312/67 car adorned with the number 18 created by the ceramist Goffredo Gaeta,[6][7] is awarded for "a commendable performance in motorsport".
[5] The recipient is selected by a panel of 12 judges composed of motor racing journalists and former Formula One team members.
[14] No award was given in each of 1993 and 1994 and no-one has won more than once because drivers are only allowed to be a named a recipient just once to give other racers the opportunity to win it.
[5][14] Although the accolade is usually awarded to racing drivers for their achievements from the previous season, it has been awarded to four racing team members: the Ferrari president Luca Cordero di Montezemolo (1997),[14] the marque's vice-chairman Piero Ferrari (2013),[15] the Formula One CEO Stefano Domenicali and the Aprilia MotoGP CEO Massimo Rivola (2021); the latter two are the only joint recipients of the trophy in a calendar year.