Oleksandr Bondarev

Oleksandr Bondarev (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 and the 2023 CIK-FIA European Championship, both in the OKJ class.

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, and won the 2018 CEE Rotax Max Challenge.

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

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. 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 contiuned 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. 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. It is the first time in history that a Formula One team has signed a Ukrainian driver.