MOTORING NEWS
VALTTERI BOTTAS
TESTS THE NEW 33 STRADALE
Formula 1 driver Valtteri Bottas recently spent a day with the Alfa Romeo engineering team at the Balocco Proving Ground in Vercelli, Italy where he participated in an intense testing session of the“ 00 prototype” of his custom-built 33 Stradale
“ The opportunity to test the 33 Stradale was a very special moment. I hope my feedback can be useful to the experienced Alfa Romeo development team for the final tuning. Configuring my personal car with the“ bottega Alfa Romeo” was engaging and exciting, and testing it today was really exciting. All I have to do is wait for my 33 Stradale to be ready!
I am extremely satisfied with the testing. Today’ s experience is close to perfection, which for me means total symbiosis with the car. The car immediately puts you at ease: extremely responsive, precise. The feeling with the car is immediate, extremely easy and fun to understand, and you certainly don’ t need to be an F1 driver to experience it. In addition, its sound envelops the passenger compartment and is unmistakably Alfa Romeo.”
The Alfa Romeo track at the Balocco Proving Ground hosted the event, the iconic track that since 1962 has hosted the development and preparation of the highest-performance racing cars( Autodelta) that competed in international F1, DTM and Super Turismo competitions. There the Finnish driver performed medium- and highspeed tests overseen by Alfa Romeo engineers, focusing on balance, braking, and road handling to provide the best driving experience.
Valtteri began the test session with a reconnaissance lap in the Giulia GTAm to familiarize himself with the Alfa Romeo track. Notably, he had purchased one of the 500 Giulia GTAm models last year, a high-performance car with ultra-light materials and a powerful 540-hp 2.9 V6 Bi-Turbo engine. This purchase allowed him to join the Alfa Romeo“ Tribe” and now, as a member of the exclusive“ Club 33,” his bond with the brand and its sporting tradition has strengthened.
The F1 driver then got behind the wheel of the 33 Stradale, which he immediately described as an intuitive, immediately understandable car. The first test was conducted at moderate speed, giving him the opportunity to evaluate the precision of the steering system and the response of the braking system, as well as the characteristic handling guaranteed by the system made up of the aluminum H-frame, the carbon-fiber monocoque, and the refined configuration of the suspension. Plus, as everything is designed and aimed at the utmost human-machine involvement, the driver particularly appreciated the minimalism of the interior, which never distracts the driver from the driving experience.
At a later stage, Valtteri then gradually increased the speed to test its behavior in more extreme conditions. The Alfa 33 Stradale boasts a 3.0-liter V6 twinturbo engine, delivering over 620 hp, and is equipped with an eight-speed DCT gearbox, rear-wheel drive, and an electronic limited-slip differential. This enhanced V6 engine, adapted from the brand’ s high-performance models, is centrally mounted longitudinally, propelling the car to a top speed of 333 km / h and enabling it to accelerate from 0 to 100 km / h in under three seconds.
Drivers can select between two driving modes using switches on the central tunnel:“ Strada”( Road) and“ Pista”( Track).
In the final stage of the test, Valtteri Bottas tackled the Balocco track by selecting Pista mode, in which the 33 Stradale expresses its full potential. One of the most exciting performance controls in this configuration is the“ Partenza Veloce”(‘ Quick Start’) procedure: by pressing the“ Quadrifoglio” button on the central tunnel, it acts on the gearbox, traction control and power to maximize acceleration by avoiding wheel slippage. On some sections of the circuit, the F1 diver disengaged traction control( ESC OFF), taking the car close to its top speed to confirm that the 33 Stradale manages to combine supercar performance with surprising ease of driving, even for non-professional drivers. All this is made even more evocative by the sound of the twin-turbo V6, now an Alfa Romeo trademark.
The new car’ s active suspension system was a key part of the Finnish driver’ s test. The car uses a dual-arm suspension design with active shock absorbers and semi-virtual steering on both axles. This setup optimizes steering wheel control and precision, while also providing high lateral acceleration for superior handling in all conditions.
“ Finally, Bottas praised the precision and capacity of the brakes to adapt to different driving modes, ensuring excellent control of the vehicle at all times via Alfa Romeo’ s Brake-By-Wire braking system, developed by Brembo. This innovative system allows the new 33 Stradale to brake from 100 km / h to 0 in under 33 meters.
An icon reborn? Does it pay homage to the 33’ s legacy in a modern way? Seemingly it looks like Alfa has knocked it out of the park with this gem.”
aBr WORDS IN ACTION 14 MARCH 2025