Valtteri Bottas, Formula 1 driver and exclusive customer of the new Alfa Romeo 33 Stradale, spent an intense and engaging day with the Alfa Romeo engineering team at the Balocco Proving Ground (Vercelli province), testing the “00 prototype” of the new custom-built car.
The 33 Stradale testing session with Valtteri Bottas
At the end of the test session, Valtteri Bottas said: “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 only possible venue for the event was the Alfa Romeo track at the Balocco Proving Ground in Vercelli province, 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.
The team of Alfa Romeo engineers managed the entire test session by subjecting the Finnish driver to specific medium- and high-speed tests, with a focus on balance, braking system and road handling. On the other hand, the dynamic goal of the project from the outset is extremely ambitious, namely to offer the best driving experience in the category.
The familiarization test session started aboard the Alfa Romeo Giulia GTAm
The test session began with a first reconnaissance lap aboard the Giulia GTAm to give Valtteri the opportunity to familiarize himself with the configuration of the Alfa Romeo track surface. It is worth a mention that the Finnish driver last year purchased one of the 500 models of the Giulia GTAm, the high-performance car featuring the extensive adoption of ultra-light materials and the powerful 540-hp 2.9 V6 Bi-Turbo engine. He was therefore entitled to join the Alfa Romeo “crew” and now he has also become a member of the selective “Club 33,” the bond has been further strengthened, demonstrating a passion that binds him to the brand’s tradition of sportiness.
The Valteri Bottass 33 Stradale testing
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 33 Stradale is fitted with a 3.0-liter V6 twin-turbo engine with over 620 hp and an eight-speed DCT gearbox, rear-wheel drive and electronic limited-slip differential. An evolution of the V6 that already featured in the Italian brand’s highest-performance cars, the new engine is mounted longitudinally in the center and enables the car to reach a top speed of 333 km/h, accelerating from 0 to 100 km/h in under three seconds. Two driving modes are available, which can be activated from the switches on the central tunnel: “Strada” (‘Road’) and “Pista” (‘Track’). The former, engaged when the car is started, ensures comfort and driving pleasure: smooth power delivery, usual pedal sensitivity, soft suspension, fluid transmission, and active exhaust valves open only above 5,000 rpm. Alternatively, in Pista mode, the driver chooses an adrenaline-fueled drive: the power is at its peak, the pedals are even more responsive, and the suspension is rigid, as well as offering rapid gearshift and active exhaust valves that are always open.
Valtteri Bottas tackled the Balocco 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, an authentic ‘mechanical symphony’ that wraps around the passenger compartment and conveys unique emotions with every acceleration.
The active suspension system also played a key role in the test conducted by the Finnish driver, offering a perfect combination of comfort and performance. Specifically, the new custom-built car adopts a 100% Alfa Romeo dual-arm suspension scheme with active shock absorbers and semi-virtual steering on both the front and rear axles, which provides optimum control of the steering wheel and the highest degree of steering precision, as well as providing great lateral acceleration to ensure the best handling in all driving 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. For example, the new 33 Stradale brakes from 100 km/h to 0 in less than 33 meters, made possible by the built-in Alfa Romeo Brake-By-Wire braking system, which both controls braking pressure and ensures stability in the feeling of the pedal. Produced by Brembo for Alfa Romeo, carbon-ceramic brakes guarantee high performance and ensure reactive braking with a reduced fading effect at high temperatures. In the front and rear, the discs are ventilated and perforated, with a six-piston monobloc caliper in aluminum in the front and a four-piston system in the rear.
Bottas lets loose with the new Junior 280 Veloce
Finally, once the tests were complete, the Alfa Romeo team could not miss out on the opportunity to let Valtteri Bottas loose on the brand-new Junior 280 Veloce, the 100% electric sports compact equipped with specific solutions “made by and for” Alfa Romeo. Bottas therefore carried out a test on the track to try out, albeit at lesser proportions than the extraordinary 33 Stradale, the exhilarating performance but above all the excellent driving dynamics, the result of the same expertise that distinguishes the Alfa Romeo development team.
