It was a busy weekend for two members of the Williams Racing Driver Academy, with Oleksandr Bondarev continuing his F4 Middle East campaign in Dubai, while Lia Block kicked off her Eurocup-4 Spanish Winter Championship at Jerez.

Both drivers took on competitive fields in their respective series – read on to find out how their weekends unfolded.

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Returning to action for Round 3 of the F4 Middle East Championship, Sasha took on the Dubai Autodrome looking to build on his momentum from previous rounds. He qualified P14 and P8 in the two sessions, setting himself up for a competitive weekend.

Race 1 saw Bondi deliver a solid drive to finish P8, securing more points. However, Race 2 proved to be a tough one, while battling for a podium position, he collided with teammate Zhenrui Chi, dropping him to a P25 finish. Undeterred, Sasha bounced back in Race 3 with another P8 result, adding more points to his tally.

After three rounds, Sasha now sits P12 in the Drivers’ Standings with 31 points and remains firmly in the Rookie Standings fight in P3 with 150 points. The series now returns to Yas Marina for Round 4 this coming weekend.

Meanwhile, Lia Block began her Eurocup-4 Spanish Winter Championship campaign at Jerez with ART Grand Prix, getting more experience behind the wheel of F4 machinery.

She lined up P24 in Race 1 and held position to the flag in a tightly contested pack. The Sprint Race brought progress, with Lia securing a P17 finish in the 33-car field.

Unfortunately, Race 2 ended in frustration, as she was left with nowhere to car when a car span ahead, forcing her to retire. Despite the setback, Lia gained valuable track time and experience as she prepares for the next round in Portimão on 21-23 February.

Williams

Oleksandr has been karting since the age of five. His first major title came at the Ukrainian Karting Championship, becoming the series' youngest champion in its history at only 7 years old. The following year, Oleksandr entered his first international championship including the WSK Final Cup 60 Mini class and the CEE Rotax Max Challenge, which he won.

In 2021, he competed in the CIK-FIA Academy Trophy, securing a podium and a third overall result in the highly competitive championship.

The following year, he joined the Ricky Flynn Motorsport team, best known for supporting numerous Formula 1 drivers in their karting careers. He went on to win the 2022 WSK OKJ Super Master Series, achieving podiums at all four races and wins at three.

Later in the year, Oleksandr began the CIK-FIA OKJ European Championship season before he was involved in a serious karting accident in the second round, ending his season prematurely. His stationary kart was hit head-on in Zuera, Spain, causing him to sustain a compound fracture in his leg which required ten surgeries and multiple months of rehabilitation. Oleksandr made a full recovery by Autumn 2022.

In the first full season after his injury, Oleksandr was crowned 2023 CIK-FIA Karting European Champion, becoming the first Ukrainian driver in the history of karting to win the championship. Throughout the season, he stood on the podium a total of four times, including two wins.

The 14-year-old driver joined the Williams Racing Driver Academy in September 2023.

For 2024, Oleksandr will continue in karting in European and global championships, including the FIA European Karting Championship and the WSK Super Master Series.

More from Oleksandr Bondarev

Oleksandr Bondarev

Lia has grown up in the motorsport world and spent many of her childhood years in the paddock. She began racing karts at 11 years old and entered her first off-road racing series in the same year.

Lia then started drifting cars at 13 years old and assumed drag-racing duties in the famous 1,400HP Mustang ‘Hoonicorn’ the year after.
She continued to build her skills in off-road racing and karting, becoming a front-runner in the Lucas Oil Off-Road Series’ lower classes by 2021 and taking multiple karting wins.

She later took part in the final round of the 2021 American Rally Association Championship in the Oregon Trail Rally as a 15-year-old, for the Hoonigan Racing Division, marking her first national-level rally.

Lia undertook more regular rallying in 2022 as part of the ARA championship, a season which included her best finish at the Southern Ohio Forest Rally where she placed 9th overall and 3rd in the O2WD class.

This proved an even more successful event for her in the 2023 season, achieving a 6th place finish overall and a victory in the O2WD class.

With two rallies to go, Lia secured the 2023 ARA O2WD championship to become the youngest ARA champion in history.

2023 has been a busy year for Lia, competing in Extreme E as part of Carl Cox Motorsport for the second half of the season alongside Timo Scheider. She has also begun her first season in Nitrocross NEXT, the junior category of the championship previously known as Nitro Rallycross.

In November 2023, it was announced that Lia will compete in the 2024 F1 Academy season with ART Grand Prix, as well as coming onboard as a Williams Racing Academy Driver.

Later in the month, Lia competed in the Baja 1000 alongside her mother Lucy Block and the Block House Racing Team. Lia and the team raced to victory following a grueling 34 hours of rally racing in Mexico.

More from Lia Block

Lia Block

Find out two members of the Williams Racing Driver Academy fared over the weekend

Academy Report: Sasha and Lia Take on Dubai and Jerez

Find out two members of the Williams Racing Driver Academy fared over the weekend

F4 Middle East

Eurocup-4 Spanish Winter Championship

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