The opening lap of the Mexico City Grand Prix featured an intense, intra-team battle within Ferrari.

Battling for the race lead, Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton traded heavy, aggressive blows through the opening sequence of corners. The scarlet cars squeezed each other to the absolute limit, ultimately resulting in an off-track excursion and a time penalty for the Monegasque driver.

Hamilton initially forced his team-mate wide through the Turn 1 complex, but the real drama erupted moments later at Turn 4. The pair went wheel-to-wheel deep into the braking zone, causing both drivers to miss the apex entirely. Instead of yielding the position back to the seven-time world champion, the 29-year-old kept his foot down. The resulting chaos inadvertently allowed Red Bull’s Max Verstappen to slip past the frustrated Brit.

Swallowing the penalty

Knowing a sporting sanction was likely imminent for leaving the track and gaining an advantage, the Maranello charger queried his pitwall but ultimately chose to hold his ground on the asphalt.

"Yes, I mean, the penalty was deserved in a way," Leclerc admitted during his post-race media availability. "The thing is that it was a bit confusing because we both didn't make Turn 4. Then I stayed ahead, and then Max got past Lewis."

Charles Leclerc, Ferrari, Lando Norris, McLaren, Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes

Photo by: Colin McMaster / LAT Images via Getty Images

Strategic defence against Red Bull played a massive role in his split-second decision to take the punishment.

"Then I asked what should I do, and I kept the position. I took a deserved penalty," he explained. "I don't know if Lewis's point was for me to get P3, but at least having a Red Bull second, I felt it was worth it to kind of keep the position and see what happens. That's what I did."

The red flag restart

The time penalty was not his only hurdle of the afternoon. After the Lap 45 red flag halted the session, the ensuing restart proved brutal for the Ferrari driver's podium hopes. Lining up on the dusty, un-rubbered side of the grid, he struggled for traction, ultimately allowing Mercedes rookie Kimi Antonelli to execute a clinical pass for third place.

"The pace was really good on the first stint, and the pace overall, I think, was quite strong, but unfortunately, coming the second start on the dirty side of the track, we struggled quite a bit," the Ferrari driver noted. "The track wasn't so clean, but it's the way it is."

Charles Leclerc, Ferrari, Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari

Photo by: Colin McMaster / LAT Images via Getty Images

Hamilton was noticeably furious over the team radio regarding the Turn 4 incident, demanding answers from the pitwall. When asked about smoothing things over with his team-mate behind closed doors, Leclerc remained entirely unapologetic about the hard racing, pointing a finger right back at Hamilton's opening-corner aggression.

"Well, I'll speak with Lewis," he shrugged. "I could be also unhappy with how much he pushed me off the track out of Turn 1, but I think it's racing. When you are fighting for a win, it's the way it should be."