F1 energy rankings: Why Chinese GP will be so different

From one of the worst tracks for energy recovery to one of the best, Formula 1's understanding of the success and failures of the 2026 rules will be much clearer after this weekend's Chinese Grand Prix.

The season opener in Melbourne last weekend was always going to be a difficult place to understand the new regulations.

It was widely understood that the lack of heavy-braking zones and minimal number of low-speed corners at Albert Park, plus that long run between Turn 6 and Turn 9 after a medium-speed corner, was going to expose some of the worst aspects of the new cars.

That factor also made it harder to comprehend whether the overtaking fest in the early stages of the race was exaggerated by cars being so energy-starved or if it is something we will see at other tracks too.

Answers to all this should come from this weekend's Shanghai round, and that explains why F1 bosses have wanted to wait until after this second event has taken place before deciding what, if any, tweaks need to be made to the rules.

That is because the China venue, despite having a super-long straight, falls into a tier list of circuits that is actually pretty good for energy-recovery demands.

As the full list below shows, Shanghai is one of those circuits where the maximum allowance - of 9MJ - is opened up because the FIA is comfortable that recovery should be straightforward without the need for weird lift and coast tactics.

The layout offers plenty of braking zones and a prevalence of medium-speed corners that will allow a decent amount of recharge.

So while there may well be some speed drop-off towards the end of the back straight, the rest of the lap should allow the F1 2026 cars to perform at their best.

How the tracks are divided

Because Shanghai falls into the very top tier of tracks where energy recovery can be maximised - it is one of 12 tracks in that upper category where 9MJ of recharge is permitted - it will offer us a chance to see these cars at their best.

Australia, by contrast, is one of four tracks at the lower end of the scale, with a maximum recharge allowance in qualifying of 7MJ. The Red Bull Ring has the same figure, at Jeddah it is capped at 6.5MJ, and Monza has the lowest allowance of all: just 6.5MJ.

As part of the FIA's procedures for this year, it is varying the recharge that is allowed at each track on safety grounds.

This forms part of the technical regulations where the governing is allowed to reduce the recharge from the standard 8.5MJ to as low as 5MJ if it wants where "the harvesting strategies required to achieve the above limit are excessive".

Separate regulations also allow it to increase the limit to 9MJ at those tracks where recovery is easy and some extra power could be beneficial.

This is on the grounds of "ensuring the maximum speed of the F1 car remains compatible with the design and construction of the relevant circuit".

This variation of recharge allowance was put in the rules because there were concerns that, if recharging was not limited at those tracks where it was difficult, then that could open the door to some weird tactics such as lifting and coasting on the straights in qualifying.

By pulling back the maximum amount that can be recovered, the risks of weird tactics being used is wiped out as that lower limit should be easily achievable.

As the FIA's single-seater director Nikolas Tombazis explained last year, it is a response to make sure that qualifying at the more difficult tracks does not become too much of an energy recovery farce.

"It's for what we call energy-starved tracks," he said. "These are the tracks that have a less favourable ratio of charging versus using energy.

"So we wanted to make sure for qualifying that we don't make it necessary for them to do any recharging on a straight, and the best way to do it is to say that the energy they can have is limited.

"Therefore they can obtain that energy in a more, let's say, natural way, and not need to do any shenanigans on the straights or brake early, or anything like that.

"That is to protect qualifying, to make sure that it is a pure expression of aggression, rather than energy management."

The variations that the FIA has imposed in terms of the recharge limit for qualifying at each circuit offers us insight into the ranking of tracks when it comes to energy demands.

Those tracks with the lowest limit are the most energy starved, while those with a higher allowance are quite straightforward.

Based on the maximum recharge allowance for qualifying, it shows how the tracks have been divided, and why China should let us see just what a more normal track should be like.