Formula 1 is back this weekend, with the first race taking place at the Bahrain International Circuit on Sunday. To kick off the new season, Alfa Romeo decided to take their C41 race car and Giulia GTAm road car to the track, albeit not in Bahrain.
Team drivers Kimi Räikkönen and Antonio
Giovanazzi will be in suits adorned with the GTA and GTAm names respectively
this weekend as a tribute to Alfa Romeo’s highest-performance road car to date.
The Giulia GTA and GTAm’s powertrain are largely the same as the “normal”
Quadrifoglio, just with the addition of an extra 30 hp from
increased boost pressure. That might not sound like much of an improvement, but
where the real changes lie is in the car’s aerodynamics and handling tweaks.
Räikkönen and Giovanazzi were intimately
involved with the GTA and GTAm’s development in those regards, having spent
their time with the car at the Balocco Proving Ground. The suspension features
all-new springs, shocks, and bushings, and both the front and rear track have
been widened by 50 mm. As for the aerodynamics, both the GTA and GTAm feature a
new front bumper, side skirts, and extractor, and the GTAm benefits from the
addition of a large wing out back.
On the weight reduction front, the GTAm
drops 100 kg from the Quadrifoglio’s 1,726 kg curb weight
thanks to an extensive use of carbon fiber, Lexan side and rear windows instead
of glass, center-lock wheels, and removal of the three rear seats.
The GTAm is joined by the C41 race car,
which is Alfa Romeo’s challenger for the 2021 Formula 1 season. The car
features just mild changes over last year’s contender, as the real shake-up
comes with next year’s sporting regulation overhaul. The C41 will of be piloted
by none other than Räikkönen and Giovanazzi, who might have a chance of moving
higher up the grid thanks to the car’s new Ferrari power unit. Regardless,
we’ll be finding out soon enough when the first round of the 2021 Formula 1
season kicks off this weekend.
