I have owned a '09 GTS with the F1 transmission system for 2 years and during that time put 65,000 Km (~40,000 miles) on it.
Clutch wear at the beginning of my ownership was 80% and at the end 60 % - that's 20% wear-rate of clutch used in 40,000 miles!!
My driving style?
1) I ALWAYS drove the car in Manual-SPORT mode (the mode its meant to be driven in!), and mostly changed gears around 3000 - 3500 rpms during city drives and 5500+ rpms on highways.
2) Contrary to what some folks are saying here, I always downshifted when necessary and this way actually used the engine braking to good effect - saved brake wear which I never needed to change during the tenure of the car!. The thrilling downshifting experience of this car is something I would never forgo in order to allegedly save a component's wear rate.
3) A technically well versed F1-transmission engineer will tell you that the real clutch killer is reversing on a steep inclination. I did this 2-3 times during the the time which I owned the car and the total travel distance in this setting was probably 100 m within 3 minutes in total.
4) Unfortunately very very few car techs have in-depth knowledge of the F1 tranny. I learned a lot from this guy (
Warum ?Liqui Moly ? Zentralhydrauliköl? besser für die F1 Schaltung ist? | Unser Blog zu F1-Hydraulik.de) who makes a living out of debugging and/or fixing these - he even gets called by Maserati dealers ( and I hear even corporate) to help out. If you have issues strongly recommend to be in touch with him.
5) I used the Liqui moly fluid recommended from the site above for the F1 system (NOT for the transmission!) and the car shifts better (subjectively feels quicker & more grooved-in). It is supposed to have a positive effect on the operation of the system at a wider temperature range and on the longevity of the components -understandably because it is a fluid optimized for pressure based hydraulic systems like the F1 system is, and not on friction based systems (Maserati puts ATF friction based fluid on the car ...) Can only recommend the move.
6) Last but not least, always re-calibrate the F1 system after every inspection (latest after 20.000 Km or 13.000 miles or 2 years). I can say from experience that even certified dealers can get it wrong during the re-calibration. The thing with it is that this specific calibration should be done with a warmed-up car after the F1 system fluid has been changed (pump has obviously been bled during the fluid change procedure, etc) AND IMMEDIATELY after the self-learn procedure is complete the car should be driven -otherwise the system will not come out of maintenance mode and the calibrated setting will not go into effect!
I learned a lot about this system and had an issue which was solved by a properly done calibration alone and nothing more!
I highly recommend the GTS with the F1 tranny as it is a hell of a thrill to drive with that system and contrary to what many people say about it, if properly used and taken care of will evidently provide you with very very high mileages of enjoyment without clutch wear induced replacements.
Enjoy the car man - its a hell of a car and one of a Kind!