The Mercedes the driver managed to reach sixth place at the end of the race after the emergence of critical energy levels for the top five riders, dropping to 12th place just two laps to go.

As a result of his late jump in the top 10 de Vries reduced the damage to the leader by points Edward Mortar in the standings of the championship – only five points separate them.

Although de Vries proved opportunistic to bypass low-powered cars, as Mercedes also tried to save energy earlier in the race, he admitted to fighting his car all the time and even missed activating the attack mode, which cost extra time.

“[I have] mixed feelings, indeed, it was not very pleasant to ride in the car, ”de Fries explained.

“It’s very difficult, because the top five were committed to a long game – and we wanted to play with them in the same game.

“But obviously behind us, they were pretty bright. And then you get into this fight, which made it very difficult to play this game.

“One day I missed the attack mode, which then cost me a bit of position and distance of the track.”

De Vries added that Mercedes has decided to follow Porsche on a 40-wheel race strategy that requires more energy savings in the middle of the race.

Porsche’s move to add an extra lap to the race was a key cause of energy problems at the end of the race, and de Vries paid tribute to his team’s courage to continue striving for 40 laps.

“After all, the team was very brave and dedicated, we trusted them completely and went for it.

“And it turned out well. Luckily, we got back to the points, P6, from which we started, with the fastest lap.

“Our race was very dynamic, especially when we got into a fight. I mean, we went up and down [Porsche] were clearly very strong. But yes, we went for it [the 40-lap plan] too.

“Overall, honestly, I’m happy with our day. I don’t think we were fast enough, but it was a decent result.”

The Mercedes the driver managed to reach sixth place at the end of the race after the emergence of critical energy levels for the top five riders, dropping to 12th place just two laps to go.

As a result of his late jump in the top 10 de Vries reduced the damage to the leader by points Edward Mortar in the standings of the championship – only five points separate them.

Although de Vries proved opportunistic to bypass low-powered cars, as Mercedes also tried to save energy earlier in the race, he admitted to fighting his car all the time and even missed activating the attack mode, which cost extra time.

“[I have] mixed feelings, indeed, it was not very pleasant to ride in the car, ”de Fries explained.

“It’s very difficult, because the top five were committed to a long game – and we wanted to play with them in the same game.

“But obviously behind us, they were pretty bright. And then you get into this fight, which made it very difficult to play this game.

“One day I missed the attack mode, which then cost me a bit of position and distance of the track.”

De Vries added that Mercedes has decided to follow Porsche on a 40-wheel race strategy that requires more energy savings in the middle of the race.

Porsche’s move to add an extra lap to the race was a key cause of energy problems at the end of the race, and de Vries paid tribute to his team’s courage to continue striving for 40 laps.

“After all, the team was very brave and dedicated, we trusted them completely and went for it.

“And it turned out well. Luckily, we got back to the points, P6, from which we started, with the fastest lap.

“Our race was very dynamic, especially when we got into a fight. I mean, we went up and down [Porsche] were clearly very strong. But yes, we went for it [the 40-lap plan] too.

“Overall, honestly, I’m happy with our day. I don’t think we were fast enough, but it was a decent result.”