Oleksandr Bondarev Dazzles with Abu Dhabi Double

• Mumbai Falcons Racing Ltd star takes double win in high-profile Grand Prix-support event
• Niccolo Maccagnani grabs runner-up spot in both races with Pinnacle Motorsport
• Final podium places shared by Rookie Alp Aksoy and Adam Al Azhari

United Arab Emirates December 7, 2025: 

Williams Formula 1 Driver Academy youngster Oleksandr Bondarev grabbed a double Formula Trophy victory in the series double-header that supported the highly-anticipated Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
 
The Ukrainian, driving for Mumbai Racing Falcons Racing Ltd in the second round of the three-stop 2025 season, delivered a perfect performance in front of the crowds at the F1 season finale. Joining him on the podium in second place after both races was Pinnacle Motorsport Italian Niccolo Maccagnani.
 
Bondarev’s Turkish team mate Alp Aksoy finished third overall in race one, also taking the Rookie wins in both encounters, while local driver Adam Al Azhari claimed a podium finish in race two with UAE squad Yas Heat Racing.
 
With two races remaining, Maccagnani now tops the Driver classification leaderboard with a four-point advantage over Aksoy, who leads Rookie points. Third in the Driver standings is Hitech TGR’s Theo Palmer ahead of Al Azhari, with Bondarev’s double victories putting him fifth. Aksoy’s outstanding performance over the first five races gives him a 58-point lead at the top of the Rookie table over XCEL Motorsport’s Jaber Al Sabah, with Axcel GP’s Arthur De Doncker, Al Sabah’s team mate Felipe Reijs and X GP’s Leong Hedfors rounding out the top five. Mumbai Falcons Racing Ltd tops the Teams standings from EXCEL Motorsport, Hitech TGR, Pinnacle Motorsport and Evans GP.
 
Formula Trophy remains at Abu Dhabi’s sweeping Yas Marina Circuit for the third and final round of the 2025 season from December 12 to 13, where it joins the Gulf 12 Hours.

Race 1

Oleksandr Bondarev led every lap of opening Formula Trophy race of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix weekend double-header, but did not have an easy time en route to victory. Having qualified on pole position, the Mumbai Falcons Racing Ltd driver got away cleanly at the start to lead into the first corner from fellow front-row starter Niccolo Maccagnani, driving for Pinnacle Motorsport.
 
But with the slipstream being quite powerful, Bondarev knew he would have to get defensive if he was not going to lose his front spot. He was robust with his defending down the back straight, as

Maccagnani got in his tow, to successfully stave off an overtaking attempt around the outside at Turn 9 to keep his head in front at the end of the opening lap.
 
Plenty of action was going on behind the lead duo by this stage, with third-placed Adam Al Azhari fighting off a gaggle of cars. Amid the squabble for positions, the Yas Heat Racing driver got spun around at Turn 2 after contact with Alp Aksoy. That incident left Aksoy in third, ahead of David Cosma-Cristofor and Theo Palmer. But the Safety Car came out soon after when Al Azhari briefly stopped at the side of the track following his incident, before he was able to get going again.
 
At the restart for the start of lap five, Bondarev made a clear getaway from Maccagnani, but again had to be robust in his defense down the main straight – but was able to keep his nose ahead into the chicane. There was a change of position behind, however, as Cosma-Cristofor had a look down the inside of Aksoy at the Turn 7 chicane before finally being able to pull off the move for good around the outside of Turn 9.
 
From then on, the two leaders began pulling away, steadily extending their advantage – with Bondarev holding a gap that was around one second throughout.
 
The fight for third place was decided on lap 11 when Aksoy dived to the inside at the Turn 7 chicane and moved ahead of Cosma-Cristofor.
 
With the top four positions then unchanged to the chequered flag, the fight behind them exploded at the end as a pack of cars fought for the remaining places from fifth downwards. It was Rookie Jarrett Clark who led this train of cars at the end after some wheel-to-wheel dicing on the final lap.
 
The X GP driver had been involved in a tussle with Noah Killion at Turn 9, with the latter running wide on the exit and losing momentum. Killion then had a half spin at the final corner, dropping down to 10th at the final corner.
 
Killion’s incident-filled final lap opened the door for Hunter Salvatore to take sixth place, ahead of Yuta Suzuki and the recovering Scott Kin Lindblom who had stalled at the start and dropped down the pack.



Race 2

Oleksandr Bondarev repeated his perfect getaway from pole position in the second race as he comfortably slotted in front of Niccolo Maccagnani through the first corner.
 
Aware of the potential to get slipstreamed down the main straight though, Bondarev got defensive and hugged the inside line as his rival attempted to go around the outside of him into the Turn 7 chicane. But despite Bondarev locking up as he left it until the last possible moment to hit the brakes, he managed to keep it on track and hold the lead.
 
However, having slightly compromised his exit from the chicane, that allowed Maccagnani to get a run on him down to Turn 9. Despite managing to draw almost alongside, he did not quite have enough momentum to swoop around the outside.
 
That allowed Bondarev to pull slightly clear and he ended the opening lap 1.3 seconds in front of Maccagnani, with Adam Al Azhari third having held on to his position from Rowan Campbell-Pilling and Hunter Salvatore on the opening lap. The Safety Car was soon called out though after Yuta Suzuki spun at the Turn 7 chicane following contact with Nicholas Stati. The other early retirement was Putera Hani Halim who had clouted the pit wall off the start as he moved to avoid other cars.
 
The race restarted on lap four with Bondarev again getting away cleanly from the chasing pack, with the main action behind being Scott Kin Lindblom having a look at passing Salvatore around the outside on the run down to Turn 7. But there was a second Safety Car soon after when Black Blade Racing’s Chen Sicong locked up under braking for Turn 7, and swiped Hoai Nam Anh Nguyen – damaging his front suspension and leaving himself stranded in the run-off area.
 
With Chen’s car having been retrieved, the restart took place at the start of lap eight, with Bondarev against breaking clear. Despite Maccagnani having another attempt around the outside of Turn 9 on lap nine, the fight fizzled out as Bondarev managed to get himself some clear air to take the win ahead of his race-long challenger, with Al Azhari coming home third.
 
The main action was taking place behind the top three though as Lindblom, who had moved up to fifth on lap four, finally managed to pull off a move on fourth placed Campbell-Pilling at the Turn 7 chicane. However, as his rival locked off, he ran off the circuit and resumed in fourth – quickly backing off to mitigate any unfair advantage he may have gained.
 
Now in fifth place, Campbell-Pillig’s focus was fending off the attention from Salvatore behind – which he achieved as they came across the line in that order. Seventh place went to David Cosma-Cristofor, ahead of Alp Aksoy and Noah Killion.

Formula Trophy 2025 calendar

November 27 / Dubai Autodrome / Pre-Season Test

November 28-30 / Dubai Autodrome / Races 1-3

December 5-7 / Yas Marina Circuit / Races 4-5

December 11-13 / Yas Marina Circuit / Races 6-7

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Ends

December 7, 2025

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