Charles Leclerc reveals failed Ferrari plan that caused Lewis Hamilton 'hate'

Charles Leclerc has explained that he planned to hand the lead back to Lewis Hamilton after their clash on the first lap of the Mexico City Grand Prix.

Having come through the first three corners of the 71-lap race at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez in second, behind Hamilton, Leclerc swooped around the outside of his Ferrari team-mate at Turn 4.

They both missed the corner, with the Monegasque driver cutting across the grass, gaining an advantage in the process.

Recalling the incident, Leclerc told Sky Sports F1: "Turns 1 and 2, there was a gap, and when you're fighting for a win, I will always go for it.

"Turns 4 and 5, I broke as late as I possibly could, and I guess Lewis did the same, and we didn't both make the corner."

Leclerc 'sure' Hamilton 'definitely hated' first few laps

Leclerc maintained that his intention was to let Hamilton back through. However, the seven-time F1 drivers' champion's loss of momentum opened the door to Max Verstappen, who slid down the inside into Turn 6.

This left Leclerc no choice but to hold on to the lead and work towards building a delta that could withstand punishment from the officials.

After the stewards handed him a mitigated five-second time penalty, the nine-time grand prix winner grew a gap of around that size before his first pit stop. But it was not enough to keep Verstappen at bay, and the Red Bull driver took the net lead of the race in the pit lane.

"Then in my head it was about giving the position back, but then Lewis got overtaken by Max, and I thought it was worth it to kind of try and see what happened because it was a very confusing situation," Leclerc explained.

"I asked on the radio, but I kept my position."

Hamilton was furious, highlighting to his race engineer Carlo Santi how handing the place back had been discussed in the drivers' briefing and later how there was going to be a "big problem" over the situation as the race continued to unfold unfavourably.

He eventually finished second behind Verstappen, following a Valtteri Bottas-induced red flag, with Leclerc coming home in fourth.

The latter acknowledged how frustrating a scenario it must have been for his team-mate, adding: "I'm sure Lewis definitely hated those first few laps, and we'll discuss."