Former CART champ and F1 driver Alex Zanardi dies at 59

After his auto racing career was over, Alex Zanardi became a competitive handcyclist. (Photo by Marco Piraccini/Getty Images)

Former open-wheel champion driver Alex Zanardi has died. He was 59.

Zanardi’s family announced his death in a statement on Saturday and said that he “fell asleep peacefully, surrounded by the affection of his loved ones.” Ever the perseverant racer, Zanardi began a second racing career as a handcyclist after his competitive auto racing career was over.

A two-time CART champion in 1997 and 1998 when the United States’ open-wheel racing series were bitterly divided, Zanardi had one of the best seasons in American open-wheel history in 1998. After winning his first CART title with five wins in 1997, Zanardi won seven races and scored 15 podiums in 19 races for Chip Ganassi Racing in 1998. He had an average finish of 3.8 — nearly five spots better than his teammate Jimmy Vasser in second.

Both of Zanardi’s racing careers were significantly impacted by severe crashes, however. In 2001, Zanardi lost both of his legs in one of the worst racing crashes you’ll ever see during the CART Series race at Lausitz.

Zanardi’s car spun onto the track after he exited the pits and Alex Tagliani was unable to avoid hitting Zanardi’s car at 200 MPH. The T-bone impact ripped the front off Zanardi’s car and medics had to work furiously to save Zanardi’s life.

The crash did not quell Zanardi’s love for auto racing, however. Thanks to hand controls, Zanardi was back in a car less than two years later and started racing touring cars. He even raced the 2019 Rolex 24 at Daytona in a car that was fitted with hand controls for him.

He also began a competitive handcycling career and was quickly very good at it. He won multiple marathons in the hand cycling division — including the New York Marathon in 2011 — and won a gold medal in the 2012 Paralympic Games.

In 2020, Zanardi was competing in an Italian road race when he lost control of his handbike down a hill and slid into the path of an oncoming truck. He suffered significant head and facial injuries in the crash and spent over a year in a rehabilitation facility learning to communicate and speak again before he was able to return home.