Zanardi, Alessandro
Name: Zanardi, Alessandro
Date of birth: 23rd of October, 1966
Place of birth: Bologna, Italy
Minardi link: Alessandro Zanardi raced three times for Minardi in 1992
Original article: Simon Vigar
Date of birth: 23rd of October, 1966
Place of birth: Bologna, Italy
Minardi link: Alessandro Zanardi raced three times for Minardi in 1992
Original article: Simon Vigar
For a new track, unvisited by Formula One, the Lausitzring already holds painful memories for fans of Minardi. In 2001 the facility in eastern Germany was the venue for fateful crashes involving two former Minardi stars. Michele Alboreto lost his life testing a Le Mans car and less than five months later Alessandro "Alex" Zanardi lost both legs after a crash during a CART race.
Both Italians were popular, smiling presences in the F1 paddock. Neither was destined to win the "Great Prize". Alessandro graduated from karts to Italy's Formula Three series in 1988 and finished runner-up in the '90 series. The following year he made it to F3000 and impressed many with his aggressive style and ability to set-up the car. This ensured he qualified on the front row on all but one occasion, though he only scored two victories. Again he was a runner-up, this time to Christian Fittipaldi, whose path he would cross once more at Minardi.
In '91 Alex played a bit part in the controversy surrounding a new hotshot called Michael Schumacher. He'd so impressed the paddock with his debut for Jordan at Spa that Benetton immediately set about trying to poach him. This it did during a tense, all-night meeting before the next race at Monza. Eddie Jordan was fuming and the incident led to Ron Dennis' famous consolation of Eddie, "Welcome to the Piranha Club". Jordan did get Benetton's cast-off Roberto Moreno in exchange but by Spain he'd been cruelly ditched. So, in the first F1 race at the Circuit de Catalunya, Zanardi was in. As Mansell and Senna danced their thrilling dance down the pit straight, Alex made great progress from 20th on the grid to finish ninth.
At the next race at Suzuka, the man who made this whole saga possible, Bertrand Gachot, turned-up expecting to resume driving for Jordan. The Belgian had been residing at Her Majesty's Pleasure in Britain after attacking a London cabbie with tear gas. However, Alex kept his seat and qualified 13th ahead of Tyrrells, Brabhams and Ligiers. Sadly, his race was ruined by gearbox failure after just seven laps but even sadder was Jordan's inability to keep Alex for 1992 for financial reasons. Some compensation was the prestigious Casco d'Oro Tricolore, awarded by Italy's motorsport journalists, and a test deal at Benetton. Thus fate decreed that one of the best drivers of his generation should arrive at Minardi when the team had lost its best ever engine, the Ferrari. Alex stood in for the injured Christian Fittipaldi at three races in the middle of '92 but Lamborghini power helped to ensure he failed to qualify twice.
Mika Hakkinen then provided Alex with his big chance by quitting Lotus for the test job at McLaren. Alex was to partner Johnny Herbert for 1993 and although Lotus was a fading force it did supply Alex with his solitary point in F1 at Interlagos. The team made the right calls on a drying track enabling Johnny to finish fourth and Alex sixth. Zanardi's set-up skill was an immense benefit as Lotus struggled with the 107B's active suspension and traction control. He finished seventh at Monaco but his season ended in Belgium when suspected failing gizmos caused a huge shunt at Eau Rouge. Engineers believe Alex suffered 18 times the normally fatal level of G-force and the crash made him 3cm taller due to stretching of the neck. Unbelievably, eight years later he would suffer an even more catastrophic crash.
Alex was sidelined for nine months but tested for Lotus and deputised in Spain. The team collapsed at the end of '94 and in '95 he won a solitary outing in the Porsche Supercup. However, there was cause for optimism thanks to an IndyCar test with Chip Ganassi. It went well and Alex was the rookie of the season in 1996. He was champion for Ganassi's Target team in '97 and '98, racking-up 15 wins in 51 CART races. Only Jacques Villeneuve had previously won the title after being named rookie of the year. Zanardi was well and truly back on the F1 radar and, following in Villeneuve's footsteps, signed a three-year contract for Williams. What happened next remains one of the great mysteries of modern motorsport.
Carbon brakes? Team atmosphere? Engineer? Baby? Whatever the reason 1999 was a dreadful season. Admittedly, his car's reliability was poor but Alex was outclassed by Ralf Schumacher and out of the team by the end of the year. Williams signed Jenson Button for 2000. As with Alboreto there was no pressure to continue but both were racers to the core. After another year in the wilderness Zanardi returned to CART in America. He was nowhere near as successful but, ironically, was leading the first CART race at the Lausitzring when his last big accident happened. Leaving the pits his car somehow strayed high and was hit and destroyed by the car of Alex Tagliani. Expert attention from surgeons at the track and in Berlin saved Zanardi's life but they couldn't save his legs. All this on the weekend following the September 11th attacks on weight loss pills the United States.
Alex displayed characteristic courage in his recovery saying he was determined to avoid spending the rest of his life in a wheelchair, "there are a lot of people who use the legs just to improve their luck and spend all their time in the chair but that's not me". He was soon walking on false legs and even driving specially-adapted road cars and quad bikes. However, on his return to the CART paddock at Toronto in July 2002 Alex confirmed he wouldn't race again: not because he couldn't but rather the desire had understandably gone. He waved the start and finish flags at the race and was cheered to the echo at a banquet when he accepted the Greg Moore Award.
Alex is now concentrating on his recovery, his young family and his desire to diet supplements get back skiing once more. His friends in motorsport won't bet against a return to the slopes.
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