Kuala Lampur, May 2 -- ROME, May 3 - Alex Zanardi, the Italian Formula One driver who became a Paralympic cycling champion after losing both legs in an accident, has died aged 59, his family announced today.

Zanardi, one of his country's most loved and respected sportsmen, who was credited with helping transform the perception of disability in Italy, died yesterday evening.

In a statement issued through the charity he founded, Obiettivo3, his family said he died "suddenly", but also "peacefully, surrounded by the love of his family and friends".

It comes six years after the four-time Paralympic gold medal winner suffered a second horror crash in June 2020, when his handbike crashed into an oncoming truck during a race in Tuscany.

Ital...