Zanardi critical after surgery for severe head injury

Four-time Paralympic champion and former F1 driver Alex Zanardi is in a critical condition after undergoing a three-hour surgery.

Zanardi, who had both legs amputated in a 2001 Champ Car crash in Germany, suffered severe head injuries after crashing into a truck while competing in a handbike race in Tuscany.

He was airlifted to a hospital in Siena, which released a statement stating that he has been "transferred to the intensive care unit with a reserved prognosis".

On Twitter, Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte wrote how the entire country is "fighting" with him.

"You have never given up and with your extraordinary fortitude you have overcome a thousand difficulties," he wrote, adding, "Come on Alex Zanardi, don't give up. All of Italy is fighting with you."