Former racing driver and Paralympic champion Alex Zanardi dies at 59

Alex Zanardi, the Italian former Formula One driver and CART champion, has died at the age of 59. His family confirmed he passed away on May 1. Zanardi began his F1 career in 1991 and achieved significant success in the U.S. CART series, winning back-to-back championships in 1997 and 1998. In September 2001, he suffered a near-fatal high-speed crash at the Lausitzring circuit in Germany, which resulted in the amputation of both legs above the knee. Despite the injury, he returned to motorsport using hand controls and later excelled in para-cycling. He secured four gold medals and two silver medals at the 2012 London and 2016 Rio Paralympic Games, alongside 12 World Championship titles. In 2020, he sustained further severe head injuries in a collision with a truck during a charity relay in Tuscany. He died surrounded by family and friends after a period of health struggles following his 2020 accident.