Maserati GT2 Stradale ride review: how does this Italian race car for the road handle an F1 track?

We jumped in the passenger seat of this motorsport-derived supercar for a hot lap of one of Formula 1’s most iconic circuits.

Few people could look at the Maserati MC20 and think it needs turning up to 11, because it’s a gorgeous supercar dripping in Italian flair, with exhilarating performance and a soundtrack to match.

Fortunately, that hasn’t stopped Maserati creating the GT2 Stradale, which takes the MC20 supercar and adds more power, more aggressive styling and less weight, all inspired by the race car that is proving hugely successful in GT2 racing. (It just won the Amateur championship and came second in the Pro-Am category in the 2024 Fanatec GT2 European Series, in its first year of competition.)

The GT2 Stradale certainly sounds the business. Its high-performance V6 engine fills the air with an aggressive tone as it laps the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya in Spain, where we’re standing in the pit lane patiently awaiting our turn in the passenger seat for a hot lap around the legendary F1 track.

With the sun setting it’s finally our turn and the car looms into view. Cruising menacingly along the pit lane towards us, the heat haze melting the sky above as the engine desperately tries to cool itself from the previous lap’s escapades, it’s easy to see the race car-derived design.

You get the same sleek, hunkered down supercar style of the regular MC20, but with added aerodynamic improvements such as the air vents in the bonnet and wheel arches, and the massive rear wing that has the Maserati logo scrawled across it.

The door opens and swings upwards in dramatic fashion, and you clamber over exposed carbonfibre to drop into a slim, lightweight seat that’s crafted to hold you snugly in place. Thin padding does a surprisingly good job of making it comfortable, despite the racing harness gripping you in place.

And then we’re off, slowly at first, where the Maserati’s road car manners are obvious. And then, at the end of the pit lane, not so slowly at all. Our driver pins the throttle and the 640hp 3.0-litre V6 barks to life, catapulting the car towards the first corner. The noise is raw, angry and suitably loud.

Catalunya’s first section involves sweeping right-left-right bends, and the Maserati GT2 Stradale handles the direction changes impressively well. The reduction in weight will help here, and the tyres hold on as they’re pushed to the limit.

There’s little let up in the corners to fully unleash the engine, but with enough straight the GT2 Stradale can top out at 201mph. You don’t need to see that top speed to be wowed by the power on offer. The engine really punches you out of corners before the grippy brakes help to rein everything in with little fuss before the next bend.

And just like that, the lap is over. As we cruise back towards our pit box we’re left with a moment to reflect. The Maserati MC20 is a deeply impressive supercar for the road, and while we didn’t get to experience the GT2 Stradale from the driver’s seat, it felt just a little more focused as a driver’s car – the slim seats and lairy aero might not be for everyone, and might feel like overkill on a weekend jaunt through the countryside, but as a track day weapon it’s a mighty appealing alternative to the likes of the Porsche 911 GT3.