Mumbai Falcons and PREMA Racing capped a sensational early-season run at Lusail International Circuit by sweeping the UAE4 and Formula Regional Middle East Trophy driver titles at the end of tense and spectacular runs.
The 2026 UAE4 series had Ukrainian racer Oleksander Bondarev always in control since winning Race 1 at Yas Marina under the Mumbai Falcons banner. Bondarev collected three more wins and three second places to end up with 191 points. Two additional wins for the team came courtesy of Niccolò Maccagnani, while PREMA Racing’s Christian Costoya fought for the rookie honours with multiple class wins and an overall victory in Round 3 at Dubai Autodrome. Turkish racer Alp Aksoy, for Mumbai Falcons, and Romanian David Cosma-Cristofor, for PREMA Racing, achieved podium finishes throughout the four-event series.
Kean Nakamura-Berta led Mumbai Falcons to a sensational Formula Regional Middle East Trophy upset by delivering two amazing lights-to-flag wins in a drama-affected finale. The Japanese-Slovakian put up a dominant run in Qatar and stormed to the drivers' title after claiming a double pole in qualifying. He completed the job with four more podiums throughout the season to also take the Rookie honours. Teammate Sebastian Wheldon ended up fifth in points with three podiums, while Colombian Salim Hanna was able to deliver his maiden Formula Regional win in Round 3 and generally showed outstanding progress.
As the Middle East preseason series are now complete, PREMA Racing is looking forward to the start of the European season.
Oleksandr Bondarev - 2026 UAE4 Champion
"Very happy to win my first single-seater championship in the UAE4 Series 2026. Last year was a learning season for me, and I was finally able to put everything together and get the title. Massive thank you to the whole team, PREMA and Mumbai Falcons, for all the work that they put in throughout the whole championship, and I'm excited to start preparing for Italian F4!"
Kean Nakamura-Berta - 2026 Formula Regional Middle East Trophy Champion
"P1 in the Formula Regional Middle East Trophy! An incredible way to start the year in this new category. PREMA and Mumbai Falcons did an amazing job throughout the four weekends, and dominating the final round proved it all. So massive thanks to the team for all their hard work, and can’t wait for Europe!"