Last weekend’s Italian Grand Prix marked Monza‘s one hundredth anniversary, and Pirelli‘s one-hundred-and-fiftieth anniversary, making the race a very special occasion. Max Verstappen crossed the line to take his eleventh victory of the season, and would receive a special trophy to mark the anniversaries of the legendary circuit and the exclusive tyre provider of the FIA Formula 1 World Championship.
Marco Tronchetti Provera, CEO of Pirelli, described the event as a “celebration of Italian automotive technology and know-how” :
“We are proud to play a prominent part in this celebration of Italian automotive technology and know-how at our home grand prix, on the occasion of Monza’s centenary and Pirelli’s 150 years,” said the Italian.
“As well as also producing motorsport tyres at the cutting edge of technology for nearly 250 championships worldwide, we sustain culture and support the arts through Pirelli HangarBicocca in particular, so Pirelli wanted to mark this occasion with a unique trophy that has a direct relevance to the pinnacle of world motorsport.
“Many thanks to Patrick Tuttofuoco and Pirelli HangarBicocca for making it happen through an iconic artwork that perfectly links past and present.”
According to Pirelli, the trophy given to the top three finishers and winning constructor was called ‘Eon’, based on the longest measurable unit of time, ‘which borders on the infinite’.
The trophy was created by Milan-based artist, Patrick Tuttofuoco, who chose the theme to portray a ‘never-ending loop that evokes the cyclical nature of time‘. The Pirelli Hangarbicocca, a museum of contemporary art, is also responsible for the trophy’s creation. The museum is owned and supported by Pirelli, according to the tyre manufacturer, located next door to its Milan headquarters.
Pirelli released a video on its YouTube channel outlining the process behind the production of the trophy. According to Tuttofuoco, the trophy’s body started from a shape called a ‘Möbius Strip’ – a long, rectangular strip that is connected from end-to-end in order to create a loop, with a one-hundred and eighty degree twist at one end of the shape. This shape was created digitally via 3D design software, and constructed with high precision tools.
The Italian Grand Prix’s trophy shows off this shape beautifully, with its red and blue gradient of colour. Tuttofuoco explained that the acrylic design makes the trophy semi-transparent, which allows light to travel through and not be absorbed. The forty-eight year old also explained that this design “chromatically narrates the dispersion of energy and heat.”
