Martin Brundle was sceptical about the impact of Ferrari’s talks with Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc, but it was obvious immediately.

Hamilton, Leclerc and team principal Fred Vasseur sat down to review the events of Mexico, where the lap-one battle between the two Ferraris proved to be mutually destructive and allowed Max Verstappen to win the race.

Martin Brundle saw Ferrari drivers give each other ‘plenty of room’ in Brazil

Speaking to Sky Sports before the race, Brundle suggested the Ferrari duo would be just as aggressive with one another the next time they went wheel-to-wheel.

Asked if the situation had been ‘solved’, he replied: “Absolutely not. No chance. They’ll be going hammer and tongs at it. That’s how they’re hardwired. They’ll try not to run into each other again.

“Of course, if you’re standing in the pen and you’re being asked those direct questions, you’ll say, ‘Yeah, we’ve sat down, it’s all fine, we’re sorted.’ We’ve heard that so many times.

This was put to the test just nine laps into the race when Leclerc caught up to a struggling Hamilton. The British driver, starting at the back, gained 11 places with a sensational start, but then started to go backwards.

Hamilton took a wider entry into Juncao that allowed Leclerc to pass him on the inside, though his tighter line on the exit gave him more momentum.

They went wheel-to-wheel on the pit straight, but Hamilton appeared to back out of the fight before turn one.

“The two Ferrari drivers [were] giving each other plenty of racing room there, unsurprisingly!” Brundle remarked in commentary. “Hamilton’s really struggling with his rear tyres.”

Leclerc later obeyed an instruction to let Hamilton, who had much fresher soft tyres, through without any complaints. He regained the position when his teammate stayed out a lap too long during a late shower.

Having finished P8, one place ahead of Hamilton, Leclerc is now just 10 points behind in the drivers’ standings. This is an important symbolic battle given that the Monegasque had the upper hand on Sebastian Vettel and, for the most part, Carlos Sainz.

He wants to protect his status within the team, while Hamilton has repeatedly spoken about pushing for changes to turn Ferrari into champions again. If he can beat Leclerc, his voice will naturally gain more weight.

Still, Vasseur publicly reminded the drivers through the media in Mexico that they race for the team rather than themselves, and that may be the message he put across internally too.

Based on their battle on Sunday, albeit in the midfield, that message may have got through.