BMW have confirmed that Alex Zanardi will make F1 history when he returns to the cockpit of a F1 car at Valencia from 24th to 26th November.

Zanardi, who raced in Formula One from 1991 to 1999, will become the first driver who has his legs amputated to test an F1 machine. In 2001, he lost both his legs in an accident at the German Lausitzring, however, he made an impressive comeback to motorsport in touring cars and has won two rounds of the FIA World Touring Car Championship (WTCC) to date.

"First of all I would like to say thank you to BMW for this opportunity. That's just amazing for me. Of course, I know that I won't get a contract with the Formula One team," Zanardi said.

"However, having the chance to drive an F1 racer again is just incredible. Formula One is all about development speed. Therefore, I'm really excited to see what has changed since my last Grand Prix in 1999."

"I can call myself a very happy man, as I turned my passion into my profession. Despite having been a race driver for quite a while now, I still feel the fire burning in me. Formula One is - and will always be - the pinnacle of motor racing. I can hardly wait for the moment, when the V8 engine is started."

BMW Motorsport Director Mario Theissen added: "Alessandro Zanardi is a truly impressive character. With an unprecedented show of will and dedication, he fought his way back into motor racing and now proves in the WTCC that he is able to win races at the highest level.

"It was rather a joke when he asked me at the beginning of the year, if he could do an F1 test with us. We will give him this chance now, the engineers made it possible. I cannot wait to watch his reaction after the test."

Zanardi will conduct the Formula One drives in a BMW Sauber F1.06 that differs in many ways to the car that is used by the BMW drivers.

The car features a special brake pedal, which has been moved to the right side of the cockpit. A conventional throttle is missing.

To accelerate the car, Zanardi will use the shifting paddle on the left rear side of the steering wheel, which has been modified for this purpose. The paddle travel was increased considerably, in order to allow the right throttle percentage and smooth acceleration.

VALENCIA, Spain (AP) -- Alex Zanardi, who lost both legs in a crash five years ago, completed his return to Formula One on Saturday by becoming the first double amputee to test drive an F1 car.

The 40-year-old Italian drove 14 laps in a modified BMW-Sauber C24-B car at the Cheste circuit.

"It's fantastic," Zanardi said. "When I dropped my visor, the emotions were very heavy. It was pure pleasure being back in a fantastic race car.

"I do understand this is about much more than just driving a race car. To put a guy with no legs in an F1 car is something very special."

Zanardi, who last drove an F1 car in 1999, lost his legs in a racing crash in September 2001 in the CART series, now known as the Champ Car World Series.

His smiling eyes were matched by the grin on his face when he drove into the garage. He was helped out of the car and immediately embraced by BMW Motorsports director Mario Theissen.

"It's a wonderful day, I'm very happy that we were able to make this happen," Theissen said.

The former Williams, Minardi, Jordan and Lotus driver improved with each lap, dropping his time on the 2.5-mile circuit from 1 minute, 27.2 seconds to 1:21.6.

"We gotta go under 1:20," he told the pit crew upon hearing his final lap-time.

As the weather and his tires became warmer, Zanardi managed it in his second session -- just.

He brought his time down to 1:19.9 on his fifth, and final, lap of the afternoon.

"I told you I would show you how fast your car can go," Zanardi said to Theissen. "The guys in the shop did an unbelievable job. I'm sure 90 percent of people watching can't believe we didn't do a test previously."

Zanardi praised the work of his crew after only three prior meetings and four test laps on Thursday.

"Everything was absolutely working to the best -- like a Swiss watch," he said. "I'm a little disappointed I can't push it as hard as I like because I'm not conformable sitting in the car."

Zanardi said the main problem had been using only his right hand to steer through corners, as his left operated the throttle.

"The steering wheel is practically on my lap, which is why I can't push as much as I would like to," he said.

Though Zanardi had an unspectacular F1 career, he holds the modern CART record for points in a season -- 285 in 1998. He also holds the CART record for most consecutive poles (six), front-row starts (11) and top-three finishes in a season (15).

For his wife Daniella, it was just another day at the track.

"Yeah, this is OK," she said. "This is normal for me."