Former driver and Paralympic medalist Alex Zanardi dies aged 59

The Italian passed away on Friday night, with his family releasing a statement on Saturday, revealing no cause of death.

"Alex died peacefully, surrounded by the affection of those who closest to him," said the statement.

Zanardi's motorsport career began with two CART championships in the United States, highlighting his talent before a brief move to Formula 1.

However, a horrific accident during a CART race in Germany in 2001 saw Zanardi sever both his legs, resulting in him designing his own prosthetics and teaching himself to walk again.

His resilience and competitiveness were then shown when he moved from the car to the bike, taking up hand cycling and becoming one of the greatest athletes in that discipline, winning gold medals at the London 2012 and Rio 2016 Paralympic Games.

His return to racing without prosthetics at the 2019 Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona for BMW was another stunning feat achieved by Zanardi.