Things at Alpine were a bit shaky behind the scenes, this entire season. Reports suggest that there may have been an obvious friction between the two in-house drivers, Esteban Ocon and Fernando Alonso. Ocon has been vocal about his displeasure with having to work alongside Fernando.

In a recent interview with L’Equipe, the racer shared his struggles with team dynamics. He believes that the balance of things with Alonso wasn’t there and it was a rather unfair environment that left him feeling exhausted. Ocon also expressed his glee at the news of Pierre Gasly joining Alpine for the next season. It seems Alonso let the Frenchman do all the heavy lifting in Alpine.

When asked about his thoughts on Gasly taking Fernando‘s seat next season, Ocon had a lot to say. He said, “I hope that changes because, honestly, it was 98% on my back and 2% on Alonso’s back. I wasn’t overworked, but I did all the development in the simulator and almost all the marketing trips.”

“I think that with Pierre (Gasly) we can share this job very well. It will help me maintain more energy for the next season. I’m sure it will be much better this way,” he concluded. [Translated from Google.]

Read More: “Disappointed” Esteban Ocon Hits Back at Fernando Alonso for Unnecessarily Sour Criticism

With all that they have been through at Alpine, it seems Fernando Alonso did have an impact on Esteban Ocon. As per speculations, Ocon may have been copying Fernando Alonso.

Does Esteban Ocon copy Fernando Alonso’s driving style?

According to a few rumors going around the paddock, Esteban Ocon is copying Alonso’s settings and driving style in order to wipe off almost half a second on some occasions, like when driving at complicated circuits.

Even though Esteban Ocon completed about 98% of the simulator operations, he still falls behind Alonso. Ocon consistently underperformed and didn’t have enough pace compared to Fernando Alonso in his average lap times.

Fernando Alonso was kept under wraps about the situation back in the team since he had confirmed his move from Alpine to Aston Martin in the coming season. The team wanted to safeguard their important information.

Watch This Story: The history behind Pierre Gasly Esteban Ocon’s infamous F1 beef

Esteban Ocon and Fernando Alonso have not really seen eye to eye. However, with this new shift in the dynamics for the upcoming season, would things get better for the respective drivers? Would they emerge dominant next year?