Academy Report: Sasha starts 2026 with victory

Oleksandr Bondarev and Kean Nakamura-Berta were both in action over the weekend, here’s how they fared

Published

19 JAN 2026

Est. reading time

3 min

It might only have been the third weekend of the year, but for some members of the Williams F1 Team Driver Academy, the racing action has already begun.

Kean Nakamura-Berta and Oleksandr ‘Sasha’ Bondarev were both in action at the Yas Marina Circuit over the past weekend, both driving for Mumbai Falcons Racing as their respective winter categories got underway.

Here’s how the pair fared in Abu Dhabi.

Kean Nakamura-Berta

Formula Regional Middle East Trophy

Kean Nakamura-Berta made a solid start to life as a Williams F1 Driver Academy member, scoring points in two of the first three races of the 2026 Formula Regional Middle East Trophy.

The Japanese-Slovak racer showed solid one-lap pace from the outset, qualifying fourth in the opening session before improving to third later in the day.

Starting race 1 from P4, Kean ran just outside the podium positions throughout, closely shadowing the car ahead for much of the 28-minute race. Despite the constant pressure, he was unable to find a way through and brought the car home in fourth place.

Race 2 saw Kean line up ninth in the reverse-grid format, but his race was short-lived. After an incident at the start led to an early red flag, Kean was running seventh following the restart. Contact at Turn 6 on the opening lap of green-flag racing left him stranded, bringing his race to an end.

From P6 on the grid for the final race of the weekend, Kean remained firmly in the fight for the podium. He applied pressure for the final step of the rostrum for much of the race, before ultimately finishing fifth.

After the opening round, Kean sits sixth in the championship standings with 22 points.

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Oleksandr Bondarev

UAE4 Series

Oleksandr enjoyed a memorable opening weekend of the 2026 UAE4 Series at Yas Marina, delivering a race win and two further top-six finishes across the three races.

Our 16-year-old Ukrainian racer set the tone early in qualifying 1, claiming pole position by more than three tenths of a second in a tightly packed field. He followed this up with a P3 in the final qualifying session of the weekend. Starting race 1 from the front, Sasha converted his pole position into victory with a mature drive, managing a safety car intervention before pulling clear to secure a comfortable win.

Race 2 saw reverse-grid format, leaving Sasha to start from P12 following his earlier victory. Despite multiple interruptions, including safety car periods and a late red flag that shortened the race, he made progress throughout and navigated his way to a P6 finish.

During the final race of the weekend, he remained in contention for the win, applying pressure at the front before taking the chequered flag in second position.

After the opening round, Sasha leaves Yas Marina leading the championship by two points.

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Both Kean and Sasha will be back in action in Abu Dhabi this weekend for the second round of their Formula Regional Middle East Trophy and UAE4 Series campaigns.

A new look for the team in Formula 1’s all-new regulations era will be unveiled on Tuesday 3 February

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