Alex Zanardi, who competed in F1 for Jordan, Minardi, Lotus and Williams before becoming a Paralympic gold medallist in handcycling, has sadly passed away at the age of 59
Former F1 hero turned Paralympic legend Alex Zanardi has died aged 59. During the 1990s, Zanardi raced in F1 for Jordan, Minardi, Lotus, and Williams between 1991 and 1999 and was also a fixture in the CART Championship for Chip Ganassi.
His racing career came to an end in September 2001 at the Lausitzring in Germany when a devastating 200mph accident saw him slide onto the oval before being struck side-on by Alex Tagliani, a crash which led to both of his legs being amputated. As well as losing both limbs, he also lost 75% of his blood, sustained a broken pelvis and was placed into an induced coma.
Zanardi regained consciousness five days later but immediately sought to return to racing in some capacity. In 2003, he went back to the Lausitzring to complete the final laps he hadn’t finished on that tragic day in 2001.
In 2006, he was at the controls of a BMW Sauber F1 car in Valencia and also piloted a modified BMW M8 in 2019, when he took part in the Daytona 24 hours. Eventually, he turned away from motorsport and switched to handcycling in the Paralympic Games, reports the Mirror.
Born in Bologna, Zanardi competed in Formula One for five seasons and achieved a best finish of sixth at the 1993 Brazilian Grand Prix before a major crash in 2001 resulted in both of his legs being amputated.
Zanardi recovered from his life-changing operation to become a Paralympic champion, firstly competing in the London Games in 2012 and claiming two gold medals in the para-cycling category before two more followed in Rio de Janeiro four years later.
A multiple winner at the UCI para-cycling Road World Championships and most recently in 2019 in Emmen, another serious accident a year later resulted in another lengthy lay-off.
The death of Zanardi was confirmed on Saturday and sparked an outpouring of tributes.
“The FIA is saddened to learn of the passing of Alex Zanardi, the former Formula 1 driver, two-time CART champion whose journey from life-changing accident to Paralympics gold medallist made him one of sport’s most admired competitors and an enduring symbol of courage and determination,” a statement read.
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