The world of sport says goodbye to Alex Zanardi, former Formula 1 driver and multiple Paralympic champion, who has died at the age of 59.
Zanardi was part of Formula One throughout the 1990s, competing for the Jordan, Minardi, Lotus and Williams teams, with a total of 41 races. His most significant period was in the Lotus car in 1993 and 1994, when he achieved the best result of his career – sixth place at the Brazilian Grand Prix.
Although he did not leave a deep mark in Formula 1, he gained world fame in the American IndyCar Championship, where he won two titles. However, his career and life were marked by an accident in 2001 at the Lausitzring circuit in Germany, in which he lost both legs.
Instead of the end, that moment became the beginning of a new, even more powerful story. Zanardi returned to racing in 2003, in a specially adapted car, competing in the Touring Car Championship, where he again managed to climb the podium.
In parallel, he turned to paracycling, in which he reached his peak – at the 2012 and 2016 Paralympic Games he won four gold and two silver medals, confirming his status as one of the greatest athletes in the history of the Paralympic movement.
Fate was not kind to him even in later years. In 2020, Zanardi was seriously injured in a traffic accident in Italy while riding a hand bike, after which he had a long recovery.
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