Alex Zanardi eyes Indianapolis 500 bow

The former grand prix driver, who lost his legs in a Champ Car crash at the Lausitzring in 2001, is about to compete for Italy in the handbike categories at the London Paralympics next month.

And although fully focused on his current ambitions, Zanardi says he is open to a return to racing for the first time since 2009 - either in a top-line series like DTM or in a big event like the Indy 500.

"To be honest at the moment I'm totally focused on the handbike," he told Italian magazine Autosprint. "Obviously, should I be offered a drive, perhaps in DTM, that would be super cool.

"I'm not sure about [world] touring cars: maybe I'd accept immediately, after all I had some great times in the WTCC, but now it would seem like a step backwards.

"Now, this is just a theory, but should someone like Morris Nunn call me, it would be easier for me to do the Indy 500, as there isn't too much braking or tight curves."

Zanardi's Paralympic efforts will be concentrated at race track Brands Hatch, where he will be competing in time trial, road race and team relay events.

Beyond this summer's games, Zanardi says his future plans are open - and that he could even end up doing something totally different rather than racing.

"What I do now is the result of completely random events: more randomness could make me go other ways again," he said.

"But my luck has been to realise how exceptional what I am doing is. A medal in London would be a nice way to end a period of my life, but I've enjoyed every minute of what I've already done to get there.