Ukrainian Driver Makes History with First-Ever Formula 4 Victory

Ukrainian racing driver Oleksandr Bondarev claimed his maiden victory, triumphing in the fourth round of the Italian Formula 4 series in Imola. This achievement also marked Ukraine’s first win in the championship.

The Gaze reports on it, referring to Suspilne.

The Formula 4 stages include several races. Three races were planned in Imola, but the second one on Saturday, August 2, was canceled due to an accident. In the first race, Bondarev finished fourth, 1.271 seconds behind the leader, setting a season record. The next day, he won, beating Japan's Kina Nakamura-Bert by 0.045 seconds after 16 laps.

It is noteworthy that all three podium places were taken by drivers from Bondarev's team: Nakamura-Bert and Chinese driver Newman Chi also represented Prema Racing.

The Ukrainian has been part of the Williams Racing Driver Academy, a Formula 1 world championship team, since September 2023. Along with winning, Bondarev also started from pole position and set the fastest lap of the race with a time of 1:46.998 minutes.

“It was a really good race. We started from pole, and qualifying went really well too, it put us in a strong position for the whole weekend. I didn’t warm up the tyres enough on the formation lap, and that’s why I lost the lead on lap one,” said Bondarev.

The Ukrainian racer also noted that the team made a significant contribution to the success, and the victory was achieved thanks to a well-prepared sprint and a successful overtaking maneuver at a key moment. He emphasized that the competition was intense, but the result brought him great joy.

Bondarev currently sits 19th in the overall drivers’ standings and holds sixth place in the rookie classification. 

The Gaze informed earlier that Ukrainian athlete Yuriy Kovalchuk claimed gold at the 2025 European Modern Pentathlon Championships in Madrid with 1,588 points, securing Ukraine’s second consecutive individual title at the event.