Former Formula 1 and CART driver Alex Zanardi claimed a fourth Paralympic medal on Wednesday, on the eve of his 15-year anniversary of when he lost his legs following a crash in 2001.
The Italian claimed gold in the H5 road time trial in Rio, beating second place by 2.7 seconds over the 20km course.
The 49-year-old had to have both his legs amputated after crashing during a CART race at the Lausitzring. He twice won the championship before that in 1997 and 1998 and recorded 41 Formula 1 race starts.
Since his accident, he has gone on to compete in the London Paralympic's, where he won two golds and a silver.
![Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri [McLaren] celebrate their 1-2 finish at the 2025 F1 Austrian GP](https://www.motorsportweek.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Lando-Norris-Oscar-Piastri-McLaren-F1-2025-1-120x86.webp)
This gold is however more special, as Zanardi explains: "Where today you have the Olympic Stadium, on that piece of land they used to have an Indy Car circuit, which is where I won my very first pole position – for a romantic guy like me this is quite special."
![Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri [McLaren] celebrate their 1-2 finish at the 2025 F1 Austrian GP](https://www.motorsportweek.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Lando-Norris-Oscar-Piastri-McLaren-F1-2025-1-350x250.webp)
