Today, August 2nd, the first race of the fifth round of the 2025 Italian Formula-4 took place in Imola, featuring driver Alexander Bondarev from Prema Racing.

After a successful qualifying session, Alexander was set to start from the second position but faced a penalty that dropped him two places. This was due to other drivers trying to gain a slipstream from him, prompting Alexander to slow down to let them pass.

Although an investigation found no errors on Bondarev's part, he still received the penalty.

As a result, Alexander started in fourth place, right behind qualifying winner Gabriel Gomez from US Racing and his Prema Racing teammates Kim Nakamura-Berta and Salim Hanna.

Bondarev began the race strongly, with Hanna overtaking Nakamura-Berta ahead. He kept his competitors on edge, but just 2.5 minutes in, a crash involving two drivers led to the deployment of the safety car.

At the restart, no positions were changed among the leading drivers, and after the halfway point, the safety car was back on track.

With 5 minutes remaining, a second restart occurred, during which Alexander attempted to attack Nakamura-Berta, but to no avail. Meanwhile, he was under pressure from Renaud Franco from PHM Racing, who himself was facing attacks from other competitors.

In the end, Alexander Bondarev finished the first race of the fifth round in fourth place, marking his best career result. He surpassed his previous achievement in Misano, where he finished sixth.

Among the rookies, Bondarev placed second, only behind Salim Hanna, and both reached the rookie podium alongside another Prema Racing representative, Newman Chi.

This race earned Alexander 12 points, significantly aiding him in both the overall drivers' standings and the rookie rankings.