Former F1 driver and Italian Paralympic champion Alex Zanardi in serious condition following horror crash in Tuscany
- Former F1 competitor Alex Zanardi was involved in a horrific crash in Tuscany
- The Italian Paralympic champion was hit by a truck during a national race
- Zanardi is in a very serious condition and is being treated in a hospital in Siena
- The former F1 driver lost both his legs in a German IndyCar race in 2001
Formula One driver turned Paralympic champion Alex Zanardi was in a 'very serious' condition in hospital after being injured again in a horrific accident on Friday.
Experienced in top level motor sport on both sides of the Atlantic, Zanardi, 53, lost both his legs in a 2001 crash during a German IndyCar race.
Friday's accident came when the Italian, descending in a national race for Paralympic athletes on handbikes, lost control and veered into oncoming traffic. He was hit by a large truck.
Italian Paralympic champion Alex Zanardi is in a serious condition in hospital after a crash
The horrific incident saw Zanardi lose control in a Paralympic race before being hit by a truck
After the crash, near the Tuscan town of Pienza, Zanardi was airlifted to the Santa Maria alle Scotte hospital in Siena.
Zanardi won four gold medals in handbike at the 2012 and 2016 Paralympics.
The 1978 F1 world champion Mario Andretti tweeted: 'I am so frightened about Alex I'm holding my breath.'
Zanardi was an F1 competitor before losing both his legs in a German IndyCar race in 2001
Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte tweeted: 'You have never given up and with your extraordinary fortitude you have overcome a thousand difficulties.
'Come on Alex Zanardi, don't give up. All of Italy is fighting with you.'
The Williams F1 team said: 'Alex is one of life's truly inspirational people and as we all know, a fighter through and through.'
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