Bondarev makes history with UAE4 title as Williams faith rewarded

Williams protégé Oleksandr Bondarev has made history again. As the inaugural UAE4 Champion, he became the first Ukrainian ever to win a single-seater title. 

In an exclusive interview with PlanetF1.com, Bondarev opened up on the touching reaction back home to his success, Williams’ show of faith, and his hunt for further silverware in 2026.

Oleksandr Bondarev wins UAE4 title and targets Italian F4/E4 crowns

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A prolific championship winner on the karting scene, Bondarev made the move to single seater racing in 2024. At the age of 16, he now has a maiden title under his belt.

Racing with the Mumbai Falcons squad, Bondarev claimed four race wins on his way to the 2026 UAE4 title, beating Andy Consani to the crown by eight points.

“It was a great achievement for me,” said Bondarev.

“It was my first single seater title, and the first single seater title for Ukraine. So, yeah, a really great achievement.”

2025 brought with it some challenges on the track for Bondarev. He became an Italian F4 race winner in his first full season, but was not able to force his way into the title picture.

Only two months into 2026, Bondarev is off the mark.

“Last year didn’t quite go our way I think, but I finally was able to prove myself, what I can do in the car,” he said.

“I’m really happy with the work we’ve done. We didn’t quite have the pace at some points, but we still got the results and scored points. So I feel like it was a great achievement.”

Bondarev described the reaction to his accomplishment as “amazing.” It is something which provided a boost for his fellow Ukrainians, in what is a deeply upsetting and challenging time for the nation.

“I got a lot of messages from fans in Ukraine, saying, ‘You lit up our day in very tough times for all of us in the country.’ So yeah, it was a great feeling for me.”

Bondarev’s path to where he finds himself now has not been without adversity.

Back in 2022, he suffered serious leg injuries in a karting crash. After 10 surgeries and rehabilitation, he was back racing five months later. The following year, he became the Karting European Champion, the first Ukrainian to ever win that title.

Skip forward to 2026, and with his first single seater crown in the bag, it was put to Bondarev that he must be so proud, that his achievement must make all of those hard miles to come back from that injury worth it.

“Yeah, for sure,” he confirmed.

“I feel like the injury made me stronger.

“Already the year after, I won the European Championship, and now a championship in single seaters.

“It made me stronger as an individual and a driver.

“The journey has been amazing, and hope I can continue this even further into the rest of this year, and also next year, and the years after that.”

Bondarev has been a part of the Williams F1 Team Driver Academy since 2023. In-keeping with this theme of being a history maker, he was the first Ukrainian ever to be signed by a Formula 1 team.

Bondarev has repaid Williams’ continued faith with a championship-winning performance in UAE4.

“It’s been amazing,” said Bondarev of his experience working with Williams. “The support from them has been amazing.

“They’ve helped me prepare for single seaters so much. It was a really difficult time for me last year, because I felt like I wasn’t bringing in the results that I probably should have with the pace that I’d had. But now finally, I’ve got the experience, and was able to put a championship over the line.”

UAE4 serves as something of a curtain-raiser for the 2026 F4 schedule, ahead of the main season action across its various categories around the globe.

From here, Bondarev will return to Italian F4 and the E4 Championship. He will once again race for Prema. It is a union which traces all the way back to his 2023 Karting European Championship win.

Having won the UAE4 title in the Mumbai Falcons car, Bondarev is ready resume his Prema alliance, and hopes that the ingredients are coming together for fresh championship pursuits.

Asked if the Italian F4 title is the next target on his list, Bondarev confirmed: “Yeah, of course.

“The UAE4 is basically a pre-season championship, and it gave me a lot of confidence coming into the Italian F4 knowing that the relationship with the team is good, and that we won a title already this year.

“So yeah, of course, the Italian F4, and the E4 championship, are the targets for the rest of this year.”

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Bondarev opened up on his childhood inspirations to become a racing driver, as he bids to continue motoring up the junior ladder, hungry for continued success.

While there isn’t a racer who Bondarev idolises now, as he forges his own path, a certain four-time World Champion, and Red Bull icon, once upon a time was the inspiration for a young Bondarev.

“When I was a kid, Sebastian Vettel was my idol,” he said. “He’s probably the reason why I started watching Formula 1.

“Now I’m already on the journey there, so I don’t really idolise anyone.

“What made me start motorsport at the beginning was the movie ‘Cars’, and Lightning McQueen. But then when I started to get more into Formula 1, and understand how that works, my favourite driver was Sebastian Vettel.”

Bondarev is one to watch with keen interest across 2026.

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