Zanardi to be interred, mother Anna shares details of his unexpected last moments.

      "Events unfolded in this manner, but now it feels difficult."

      Alessandro 'Alex' Zanardi will be laid to rest in Padua on Tuesday after a public memorial service, as his family begins to cope with his unexpected passing. The ceremony will occur at the Basilica of Santa Giustina, with Father Marco Pozza, a close friend of the deceased 59-year-old Italian, officiating the funeral.

      Zanardi’s death has sent shockwaves through the motorsport community, especially in light of the absence of public updates regarding his condition since his severe hand-cycling accident in 2020. Speaking to La Repubblica, his mother Anna expressed how sudden her son’s death was.

      "I haven’t slept. I’m very tired. He was fine at noon, and by evening he was gone," she shared. "We don’t know the cause, whether it was cardiac arrest or sudden pneumonia. We will see what they say."

      She also reminisced about her son’s life and personality. "All this love remains. The sweetness endures - Alex was a very kind boy, a wonderful boy."

      "For me, Alex was the best. He brought me so much joy. But now, I’m having to bear the weight of it all." Her sorrow is intensified by previous family losses, including that of her husband and daughter. "Things occurred this way, but now it’s hard, it’s really hard," she stated.

      Zanardi’s extraordinary life included his time in Formula 1, success in CART in the United States, a transformative crash in 2001 that resulted in the loss of both legs, and a subsequent career as a Paralympic champion.