Italy is in mourning: former F1 driver and four-time Paralympic Champion Alex Zanardi has passed away at the age of 59. Throughout his life, Zanardi survived horrific accidents; in 2001, he lost both his legs during a car crash at the Lausitzring in Germany. In 2020, he was severely injured during a handbike accident when he collided head-on with a truck, sustaining serious head and brain injuries from which he never fully recovered. According to his family, Zanardi “passed away peacefully,” and they have chosen not to release further details for the time being.
Zanardi was best known for his 41 starts in Formula 1, with a sixth-place finish at the 1993 Brazilian Grand Prix marking his best result. In 1997 and 1998, he also won the American CART Championship, known today as the IndyCar Series.
After losing his legs, Zanardi continued to race using prosthetics but also became a gifted handbiker. He won an incredible 12 world titles and took home Paralympic Gold in both 2012 and 2016 in the road race and time trial events. Additionally, Zanardi finished the Ironman World Championship in Hawaii twice – both times in under ten hours – and set a world record at Ironman Emilia-Romagna with a finishing time of 8:26:06.