China changes energy management and the Ferrari-Mercedes gap

The Melbourne weekend highlighted the importance that energy management has on the balance of power and race dynamics, immediately leading to the question of what the situation will be in China. The data suggests that the situation may be less critical than in Australiabut with the great unknown of the impact that the long stretches to be faced with closed wings will have. The extent of Mercedes’ advantage will depend on this, on a better track that will better exploit Ferrari’s more reactive engine.

Energy data

The numbers from the Shanghai circuit present a different picture for energy management. The data from the ground effect era, although different from that of the new cars, say that in 2025 in China each lap was traveled with the accelerator wide open up to 400 meters less than in Melbourne. Again in comparison with Australia, the average in qualifying in Shanghai was also almost 40 km/h lower, reducing fuel and energy consumption.

On the other hand, the long return straight remains a problem for the battery. There, with the old cars, you could stay for 17 seconds with the accelerator at full throttle, compared to 15 in the second sector of Melbourne, but with an important difference. In Australia, the section in question was preceded and followed by very light braking which did not allow the battery to be recharged much, with the obligation, moreover, to save energy for the subsequent fast section between turns 10 and 11. In Shanghai, however, the longest straight is found by two violent braking points, dampening the “oxygen debt” of the hybrid part.

Speaking of brakes, in 2025 Brembo estimated their use time in China to be almost double that in Albert Park. Knowing that when braking the battery can recharge with up to 350 kW of power, with an approximate calculation we obtain a recoverable energy during braking of 5.7 MJ, compared to 2.9 in Melbourne. If this is confirmed, in Shanghai, clipping and less extreme straight-line management strategies would be neededmaking driving more natural.

The risk of guided stretches

On paper, all this would standardize charging strategies, offering more traditional overtaking and race dynamics. Another possible effect would be the reduction of Mercedes’ strength. The Silver Arrows showed a clear superiority, especially in qualifying, also thanks to the powerful Brixworth power unit. The abundance of horsepower allows you to use part of it to recharge the battery and/or not be too dependent on the extra thrust of the hybrid, an advantage however that diminishes the more points there are to recover energy during braking.

The conditional, in any case, remains mandatory, as there is another unknown to take into consideration. The guided section of the second sector of Shanghai is a long area to be tackled at high speeds and with closed wings, a combination that will increase consumption. Much of the dynamics of the weekend will depend on what the impact of all this will be and whether this will weigh more than the other aspects which, instead, should facilitate energy management.

What is certain is that the teams will already put to good use what they learned during the first weekend, adjusting their battery charging strategies. The comparison between the new Formula 1 and Formula E does not only apply to the driving stylebut also for a development race that relies heavily on updates to the management software. In Australia Leclerc explained that the system learns from previous laps and adapts in real time, which leads us to expect everyone to grow on this front after an entire weekend played, which will be even more tangible after the first three races.

The power unit is not enough

While important, energy management will not be the only factor that could change the gaps seen in Australia. The data on the greater time spent braking, for example, bears witness to the presence of several low-speed zones, where the thrust when exiting corners will be important. In this, Ferrari will be able to leverage the smaller turbo and in general on an engine that offers a lot of torque at low revs, qualities obscured in Australia by a track that highlighted absolute power more.

Also pay attention to the aerodynamic and chassis qualities, with the many bends that will above all show the stability of the individual cars. Furthermore, the long stretches to be covered with the wings closed will cause the tires to experience great stress for prolonged periods under the pressure of the maximum aerodynamic load. Pressures and temperatures will tend to rise and with them thermal degradationinviting you to pay even more attention to tire management.

Overall, there are many factors that will impact the balance of power. Vasseur himself, while recognizing the strength of Mercedes, which remains the big favourite, said that in China the situation could be different than in Australia. It is not even a given that the first of the pursuers will be Ferrari. The Red Bull proved to be a very competitive car on the fast corners, but in Shanghai it will also have to deal with its shortcomings in the many low-speed sections.

Sprint is back

Added to all this is the Sprint format, the first of the six scheduled weekends. The reduction to a single free practice session will be even more impactful this year, as we will instead need to run to experiment and find the optimal energy management strategy. With two races there will also be two starts, with a distance between the grid and the first corner of 315 metres, about forty more than in Australia. The Ferrari-powered drivers hope to make the start advantage shown in Melbourne countnothing in any case that could change a forecast that remains favorable to Mercedes.