Oleksandr Bondarev

Early career

Bondarev began his karting journey at the age of five, inspired by the animated Pixar animated film Cars about Lightning McQueen. By the age of seven, he became the youngest Ukrainian Karting Champion in the Micro class.

At the age of eight, Bondarev reached the podiums in the Spanish and Portuguese Championships,^[3] and won the 2018 CEE Rotax Max Challenge.^[4] By the following year he began competing in the WSK Championships in the 60 Mini class.^[5]

In 2020, at the age of eleven, Bondarev made his debut in the X30 Junior class, where he secured third place in the Italian Championship. His progression continued in 2021, Bondarev made his debut in the OK Junior class.^[6] He finished third in the CIK-FIA Academy Trophy.

In 2022, Bondarev joined the British team Ricky Flynn Motorsport. At the beginning of the season, he won the WSK Super Master Series in the OKJ class and took the third place in the first round of the Champions of the Future.

Accident

At the end of April 2022, Bondarev was involved in a serious crash during the second round of the CIK-FIA European Championship in Zuera.^[7] As a result of the collision, he sustained a severe leg injury, underwent ten surgeries, and was engaged in rehabilitation.^[8]

After five months of recovery from the incident, Bondarev took part in the LeCont Trophy in Valencia and finished second.

2023

In 2023, Bondarev joined the Kart Republic team and continued his starts in OKJ class. He finished seventh in the WSK Champions Cup, eighth in the WSK Super Master Series and fifth in the Champions of the Future.

In July 2023, he became the first Ukrainian driver in the history to win the CIK-FIA European Championship after finishing on the podium in each of the four rounds. In August 2023, Bondarev joined Prema Racing.^[9] He finished 14th in the CIK-FIA World Championship and made his debut in the OK class, finishing sixth in the WSK Final Cup.

2024

Bondarev entered the world of single-seater racing in September 2024, competing in the final two rounds of the 2024 Italian F4 Championship with Prema Racing, finishing 30th in the standings.^[10]

2025

In preparation for his main campaign, Bondarev took part in the F4 Middle East Championship with Prema Racing, finishing 12th in the standings with a best result of sixth.^[11] Bondarev continued with Prema for the 2025 Italian F4 Championship, appearing in his first full season in the category alongside the parallel E4 Championship.^[12] He took his maiden Italian F4 victory at Imola in August and added a podium at Misano later in the season, ending the year 10th in the standings while winning the E4 rookie title and finishing ninth in the overall E4 points.^[13][14] His performances also contributed to Prema's title in the Italian F4 Constructors' standings.^[14]

In December, Bondarev took part in the second round of the 2025 Formula Trophy at the Yas Marina Circuit, driving for Mumbai Falcons alongside the 2025 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix weekend.^[15] He took pole position and won both races of the round.^[16]

2026

During pre-season, Bondarev competed in the inaugural UAE4 Series with Mumbai Falcons, taking four race wins on his way to the title and becoming the first Ukrainian driver to win a single-seater championship.^[17] Bondarev remained with Prema Racing for a second season in Italian F4, again alongside the E4 Championship.^[18] He opened the campaign with a podium finish in the first race of the season at Misano.^[19]