Although Alex Zanardi was never the best driver during his time in Formula 1 – his F1 tally is one point – he is undoubtedly one of the greatest for coming through such desperately harsh and grievous injuries, and for having the courage to face the world and get back behind the wheel.

The Italian was born in Bologna in 1966 and moved up the ranks in the typical trajectory of any successful driver; starting with karts as a teenager, joining the Italian Formula 3 series and then graduating to Formula 3000 in 1991.

That same year Zanardi made his Formula 1 debut in a Jordan, but two years later got in a serious crash at the Belgian Grand Prix, missing the rest of the season as a result. Zanardi then moved back down to Champ Car racing where he enjoyed a successful career, before being promoted once more to Formula 1 with Williams for one year. Zanardi then tumbled back down to Champ Cars until a horrific crash in 2001 cost him his legs, but not his career. Zanardi returned to racing in 2004 winning a Touring Car race in Germany in 2004. In 2006 Zanardi made one final return to Formula One, testing for BMW Sauber.

'He took a hands-on role in his own rehabilitation, even designing his own prosthetic legs'


That Zanardi came back from losing both his legs shows Schumacher-esque determination, the man himself robustly claims that he doesn’t have any psychological scars' As he said: "I am a realist and an optimist – after all, I can’t lose my legs twice.”

Zanardi’s crash, which happened in September 2001 as the Italian was exiting the pit lane and collided with Alex Tagliani who was going almost 190mph. The strength that Zanardi showed to come back from losing both legs is immeasurable. He took a hands-on role in his own rehabilitation, even designing his own prosthetic legs, and returned to the scene of his accident to complete the final 13 uncompleted laps.  Doctors initially refused to allow him to do this and subjected him to a barrage of tests before eventually conceding that he was fit to race.

When Zanardi returned to F1 to test with BMW Sauber he had to change the dimensions of his feet because the F1 car was so small. Zanardi again showed imagination, determination, and bravery in equal measure, by driving an F1 car with specially modified prosthetic legs. Although admittedly not the best Formula One driver in terms of talent, his bravery puts him up there as one of the greatest in terms of comebacks.