F1 News: Zanardi to be buried, mother reveals sudden final hours

(GMM) Alessandro ‘Alex’ Zanardi (pictured) will be laid to rest in Padua, Italy on Tuesday following a public memorial service, as his family begins to come to terms with his sudden death.

The ceremony will take place at the Basilica of Santa Giustina, with the funeral led by Father Marco Pozza, a close friend of the late 59-year-old Italian.

Zanardi’s death shocked the motorsport world, particularly given the lack of public updates on his condition since his serious hand-cycling accident in 2020.

Speaking to La Repubblica, his mother Anna described how sudden the former Formula 1 driver’s passing was.

“I haven’t slept. I’m very tired. At noon he was fine, by evening he was gone,” she said.

“We don’t know what it was, whether it was cardiac arrest or fulminant pneumonia. We’ll see what they say.”

She also reflected on her son’s life and character.

“All this love remains. The sweetness remains – Alex was a very sweet boy, a wonderful boy.”

“For me, Alex was the best. He gave me so much satisfaction. Now, though, I’m paying for it all.”

Her grief is compounded by earlier family losses, including her husband and daughter.

“Things happened this way, but now it’s hard, it’s really hard,” she said.

Zanardi’s remarkable life spanned Formula 1, CART success in the United States, a life-changing crash in 2001 that led to the loss of both legs, and a second career as a Paralympic champion.