“Proving to my friends, family, and the people that I love that they were wrong - that in spite of my age and my lack of experience, I could change sport and achieve something really special - gives me a lot of satisfaction.”

Italian racing driver and para-cyclist

Alessandro Leone Zanardi is an Italian racing driver and para-cyclist. Born in 1966, he competed in Formula One from 1991 to 1999 and later raced in CART, the World Touring Car Championship, and at the Summer Paralympics. He is best known for his success in American open-wheel racing, where he won CART national championship titles in 1997 and 1998 with Chip Ganassi Racing. He later became a decorated para-cyclist, winning four Paralympic gold medals and 12 UCI Road World Championships.