Understanding alex Zanardi, 1966-2026
Over the weekend, we learned that Alex Zanardi passed on May 1 in Italy while surrounded by friends and family. That fact alone is remarkable, because Zanardi twice denied death a sudden and final say during his hall-of-fame career, and remained an indomitable competitor and unalloyed optimist until the end.
Zanardi quickly rose through the ranks of karting and F3000 to earn seats in Formula 1, where he drove for Jordan, Lotus, and Williams in two separate stints. He moved to the United States to race Indy cars in 1995, won three races in his rookie year, and quickly became a fan favorite. His desperate last-lap dive through Laguna Seca’s Corkscrew to take a 1996 race win from Brian Herta, dubbed “The Pass,” remains one of the most exciting and controversial moments in auto racing history. In subsequent years, he won two consecutive CART championships with Chip Ganassi Racing.
After surviving a terrifying crash at the Lausitzring in Germany in 2001, Zanardi became an inspiration. He would not have lived without decisive action from the CART safety team doctors, and despite the loss of both legs in the accident, he began making light of his situation almost as soon as he regained consciousness, telling fellow drivers that he was now lighter than they were and didn’t have to waste time shopping for shoes. Zanardi chose to view his survival as a gift and an opportunity, saying “I looked at the half that was left, not the half that was lost.” In a 2003 driving demonstration, he completed his 13 unfinished laps at the Lausitzring in a car with modified controls, lapping at speeds high enough to qualify in the front three rows of the grid.
Leon Neal via AFP/Getty Images
His zeal for auto racing rekindled, Zanardi returned to competition by driving a BMW in the European and World Touring Car Championships, earning a win and several other competitive finishes between 2005–2009. Meanwhile, he was building a second career as a world-class para athlete. With a very Italian handcycle designed by Dallara and built up with Campagnolo parts, he started winning marathons, and by 2012 had earned two gold medals for the Italian team at the London Summer Olympics. He dominated the sport, winning 12 UCI World Championships in different paracycling event categories between 2013–2019.
In 2019, he returned to the racetrack as one of a three-driver team contesting the 24 Hours of Daytona in a GTLM BMW M8. He surely would have added to his collection of three- and four-wheeled victories had he not suffered a career-ending collision with a truck while racing his handcycle in 2020; this second major accident required years of recovery and resulted in a withdrawal from public life.
Despite his incredible survival stories, Zanardi was no Hemingway-esque hard man, looking to stare death in the face and punch it in the jaw. Rather, his competitive spirit came from a place of joy and a desire to live life to the fullest. This he did many times over, and left us a rare picture of what it looks like to treat every day as a gift. When talking to David Letterman about the source of his unflappable positivity, he explained “I guess I was just born lucky.”
Today his memory is being celebrated widely, with tributes are coming from every possible source (we found this one from his friend David Tremayne particularly moving). We couldn’t let the day go by without at least trying to represent what made him so special to us as racing fans. His combination of talent, courage, and humility made Alex Zanardi an amazing racer, and even more than that, an amazing human being.
Kevin Sullivan via Road & Track
Ciao, Alex. May your spirit live on in every victory donut.
Cover image: Motorsports Hall of Fame
