Alex Zanardi: A Racing Legend Whose Legacy Transcends the Track

"Hero" is not a word I toss around capriciously. Alex Zanardi is a hero.

Zanardi, a race car driver, died last week. This remembrance is longer than it probably should be, for which I apologize, but do not regret. Please bear with me.

Early Career and Formula 1 Struggles

When Italy’s Alex Zanardi raced in Formula 1—from 1991 to 1994, then again in 1999—he was a good-but-not-great driver. His career was periodically plagued by poor decisions, chronic bad luck, and teams with which he didn’t click. Zanardi bounced from one team to another: Minardi, Tyrrell, Lotus. He seemed to be at the right place at the right time with Jordan in 1992, until Maurício Gugelmin arrived with $8 million in sponsorship, and Zanardi was out of work.

IndyCar Triumph and Legendary Moments

In 1995, Zanardi migrated to America, hopeful of finding a seat in the CART IndyCar series for 1996. The turnaround began when Chip Ganassi Racing tested him at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Ganassi and Zanardi signed a contract for the entire 1996 season.

To award Zanardi the CART Rookie of the Year was almost a joke: He won three races and out-qualified the field six times, finishing third in the points. His final win of the 1996 rookie season would cement him in IndyCar lore forever: a last-lap pass at Laguna Seca. Running in second, Zanardi shot around leader Bryan Herta by cutting the corner and driving through the dirt before returning to the pavement, ahead of Herta. CART promptly outlawed the Hail Mary pass.

His popularity grew dramatically during that rookie season, bolstered by that bold pass. In 1997, Zanardi won five races and the championship. In 1998, he won seven races and the championship. He was comfortable with the team, the crew, and in his Honda-powered Reynard.

In interviews, Zanardi conveyed the joy of racing, of winning, and of life itself. He’d begun spinning in circles after a win, smoking the tires while doing doughnuts—a celebration that spread and perseveres, much like Dan Gurney’s post-race trademark of spraying Moët champagne on the podium 30 years earlier.

Return to Formula 1 and Lasting Legacy

IndyCar and Zanardi fans were sad when he signed a contract with Williams to return to Formula 1 in 1999. I received criticism for writing that America had finally found a popular driver in F1: Readers reminded me that Zanardi was from Italy, not America, but they didn’t read the whole column. I’d written that in just two seasons, America had formally adopted Alex Zanardi, and wished him well as he returned to F1.

Indeed, other by-birth Americans have gone to F1, but only after spending nearly their entire career racing in Europe, hoping to get noticed by a Formula 1 team. Only the most dedicated