August 3, during the fifth round of the Italian Formula 4 Championship held in Imola, the third race concluded with a victory for Prema Racing driver Oleksandr Bondarev.
After delivering a phenomenal qualifying performance on Friday, August 1, Bondarev secured his first-ever career pole position for the third race — a crucial foundation for what would become a historic victory for the 16-year-old Ukrainian.
However, the race didn’t begin smoothly for Bondarev. His teammate, Kean Nakamura-Berta, who started from second on the grid, had a better launch when the lights went out and overtook Bondarev midway through the opening lap.
For most of the race, Oleksandr held second place, pushing hard to catch Nakamura-Berta. After an unsuccessful overtake attempt — which nearly opened the door for the third-place driver — and a series of yellow flags, including a safety car deployment, Bondarev still managed to turn things around.
With just three minutes remaining, Bondarev used the slipstream on the start-finish straight to pull alongside Nakamura-Berta and overtook him around the outside into Turn 1.
From there, he maintained control, giving his rival no opportunity to counterattack, and ultimately secured his first-ever Formula 4 race win — a historic achievement for Ukrainian motorsport.
The podium — both overall and in the rookie category — was completely dominated by Prema Racing drivers. Joining Oleksandr Bondarev on the overall podium were Kean Nakamura-Berta and Newman Chi, while in the rookie standings, Chi and Salim Hanna stood alongside the Ukrainian.
With this victory, Oleksandr Bondarev earned a full 25 points, giving him a strong advantage in both the overall drivers' championship and the rookie standings.
