Academy Report: Sasha Maintains Momentum in Yas Marina Return

Oleksandr Bondarev continued his strong form in the F4 Middle East Championship as the series returned to Yas Marina for Round 4.

With the season finale now on the horizon, Sasha delivered another competitive weekend, solidifying his place in both the Drivers’ and Rookie Standings.

Read on to find out how our Ukrainian youngster fared in Abu Dhabi over the weekend.

Qualifying saw Bondi put himself in a strong position with P6 and P7 starts, setting up a weekend of hard-fought battles.

Race 1 saw the Ukrainian secure a P6 finish, claiming P2 in the rookie classification. However, Race 2 proved challenging – early contact led to front wing damage, forcing an unscheduled pit stop that left him with little chance of recovery, ultimately finishing P22.

Despite the setback, Sasha rebounded in Race 3 with another P6 result, once again securing P2 among the rookies.

“Race 3 was quite nice, finishing P6,” Sasha shared after the final day of Round 4.

“I had a really good start that got me into the position and I just stayed there because it was quite difficult to manage. A nice result, and nice progress from the past three rounds.

“Race 2 was a bit unlucky, I damaged my front wing again so that was not nice, I need to see what I can do better to prevent that.”

Now sitting P11 in the Drivers’ Standings with 51 points and maintaining P3 in the Rookie Standings with 199 points, Sasha heads into the final round in Qatar ready to finish the championship on a high.

The F4 Middle East season concludes next week at the Lusail International Circuit on February 26-28, where Sasha will look to end his campaign in style.