Former F1 star won four Olympic gold medals after swapping racing for new sport | F1 | Sport

Former F1 driver Alex Zanardi won four Olympic gold medals and two silvers during his Paralympic hand-cycling career. The Italian racer picked up the sport after a horrific crash in the CART Championship in 2001.

Zanardi competed in 41 Grands Prix across five seasons in F1, representing Jordan, Minardi, Lotus and finally Williams. In between his 1994 campaign and return to the series in 1999, the Italian competed in the American CART Championship, which would later rebrand to IndyCar.

Driving for the iconic Chip Ganassi Racing outfit, Zanardi lived up to the ‘Chip loves winners’ adage, notching up two championship titles and 15 race victories across a three-year stint. These performances allowed him to return to F1 with Williams, but by 2001 he was back in the CART championship with Mo Nunn Racing.

It was during this season that tragedy nearly struck. During the 2001 American Memorial, Zanardi lost control coming out of the pits. Alex Tagliani crashed into the Italian’s car, shattering the chassis and causing major injuries to the two-time champion.

In hospital, both of his legs were amputated, leaving his open-wheel racing career in tatters. Zanardi continued to race in the World Touring Car Championship but found his new success when swapping the wheel for the handcycle.

After honing his craft, the 57-year-old made his Olympics debut in London in 2012 to great success. Zanardi outshone his competitors to win gold in both the time trial H4 and the road race in the same category. He also added a silver medal for his participation in the road race relay.

Zanardi followed up his handcycle success with more medals in Rio. At the 2016 edition of the games, he scored gold in the time trial H5 and the mixed team relay H2-5, while also following up his road race triumph in London with a silver medal.

The former Williams racer did not appear at the Olympics in Tokyo but continued competing in para-cycling at an elite level until 2019. He won his final World Championship gold medal that year at the Emmen meet in the time trial H5 and the road race H5.

Zanardi rounded off his hand-cycling career with six Olympic medals and a further 12 World Championship golds. He is one of eight former F1 drivers to have competed in an event at the Games and the latest since Divina Galica entered speed skiing at the Winter Games in 1992.