Oleksandr Bondarev Explained

Oleksandr Bondarev
Birth Date:27 April 2009
Birth Place:Kyiv, Ukraine
Current Series:Karting OK
Nationality: Ukrainian
First Year:2023
Current Team:Prema Racing
Engine:IAME
Titles:Ukrainian Karting Championship
CEE Rotax Max Challenge
WSK Super Master SeriesOKJ
CIK-FIA European ChampionshipOKJ
Title Years:2016
2018
2022
2023

Oleksandr Bondarev (Олександр Бондарев; born 27 April 2009) is a Ukrainian karting driver competing in the OK class representing Prema Racing team. He is a member of the Williams Driver Academy. He is a winner of the 2022 WSK Super Master Series[1] and the 2023 CIK-FIA European Championship,[2] both in the OKJ class.

Career

Early career

Bondarev started his career at the age of 5. His passion for racing began with the Pixar animated film Cars about Lightning McQueen. At the age of 7, he became the youngest Ukrainian Karting Champion in Micro class.

At the age of 8, Bondarev reached the podiums in the Spanish and Portuguese Championships,[3] and won the 2018 CEE Rotax Max Challenge.[4]

At the age of 9, he began to compete in the WSK Championships in the 60 Mini class.[5]

In 2020, at the age of 11, he made his debut in the X30 Junior class, where he secured 3rd place in the Italian Championship.

In 2021, Bondarev made his debut in the OK Junior class.[6] He finished third in the CIK-FIA Academy Trophy.

In the 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 3rd 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. As a result of the collision, he sustained a severe leg injury, underwent ten surgeries, was engaged in daily rehabilitation and was very motivated to return to the track.

After five months of recovery from the incident, Bondarev took part in the LeCont Trophy in Valencia and finished 2nd.

2023

In 2023, Bondarev joined the Kart Republic team and continued his starts in OKJ class. He finished 7th in the WSK Champions Cup, 8th in the WSK Super Master Series and 5th 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.[7] He finished 14th in the CIK-FIA World Championship and made his debut in the OK class, finishing 6th in the WSK Final Cup.

Formula One

In September 2023, it was announced that Bondarev joined the Williams Driver Academy.[8] It is the first time in history that a Formula One team has signed a Ukrainian driver.

Karting record

Karting career summary

SeasonSeriesTeamPosition
2016Ukrainian Championship — Micro1st
Rotax Max Challenge Ukraine — Micro Max1st
2017Rotax Max Challenge Grand Finals — Micro Max6th
2018CEE Rotax Max Challenge1st
WSK Final Cup — 60 MiniGamoto ASD14th
2019WSK Champions Cup — 60 MiniGamoto ASD64th
WSK Super Master Series — 60 Mini26th
WSK Euro Series — 60 Mini50th
WSK Open Cup — 60 Mini19th
WSK Final Cup — 60 Mini11th
2020WSK Champions Cup — 60 MiniGamoto ASD8th
WSK Super Master Series — 60 Mini29th
Trofeo Andrea Margutti — X30 Junior2nd
Italian Championship — X30 Junior3rd
2021Winter Cup — OKJHonta Andriy6th
WSK Champions CupOKJNC
WSK Super Master SeriesOKJ29th
WSK Euro SeriesOKJ7th
Champions of the Future — OK47th
German ChampionshipOKJNC
CIK-FIA Academy Trophy3rd
CIK-FIA European ChampionshipOKJ21st
CIK-FIA World ChampionshipOKJ28th
WSK Open Cup — OKJ10th
WSK Final CupOKJNC
2022Champions of the Future - Winter Series — OKJRicky Flynn Motorsport28th
WSK Super Master SeriesOKJ1st
Champions of the Future - Euro Series — OK9th
CIK-FIA European ChampionshipOKJ24th
WSK Final CupOKJ28th
LeCont Trophy — OKJ2nd
2023WSK Champions CupOKJKR Motorsport7th
WSK Super Master SeriesOKJ8th
WSK Euro SeriesOKJPrema Racing28th
Champions of the Future — OKJ5th
CIK-FIA European ChampionshipOKJKR Motorsport1st
CIK-FIA World ChampionshipOKJPrema Racing14th
WSK Final CupOK6th
2024IAME Winter Cup — X30 SeniorPrema Racing31st
WSK Champions CupOK1st
WSK Super Master SeriesOK2nd
Sources:[9] [10]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: 14 March 2022 . The Champions of the WSK Super Master Series 2022 . kartcom.com .
  2. Web site: 2023-07-30 . FIA Karting - Rene Lammers, Oleksandr Bondarev and Hugo Marti crowned at Cremona . 2023-08-02 . Federation Internationale de l'Automobile . en.
  3. Web site: Piloto ucraniano de 8 años gana la carrera internacional de karts en Portugal (Fotos) . 2023-04-20 . www.ukrinform.es . 13 December 2017 . es.
  4. Web site: 2023-03-11 . Karting CEE Karting CEE Official website . 2023-05-28 . en-US.
  5. Web site: WSK Champions Cup – Friday: Antonelli, Badoer & Gladysz the fastest at Adria . 2023-04-20 . The RaceBox . en-US.
  6. Web site: Kalmès . Cristina . 2022-03-25 . Bondarev Oleksandr . 2023-04-20 . Kartcom . en-US.
  7. Web site: 2023-08-31 . PREMA sign Bondarev, Hanna to its Karting programme . 2023-09-18 . Prema Racing . en.
  8. Web site: 2023 FIA Karting European Champion Oleksandr Bondarev joins Williams Racing Driver Academy. 2023-09-12 . en-US.
  9. Web site: Bondarev Oleksander.
  10. Web site: Bondarev Oleksandr. Cristina. Kalmès.