Esteban Ocon says teammate Fernando Alonso is 'an animal going 300% to the extreme'

Esteban Ocon has described Alpine teammate Fernando Alonso's driving style as being "300% to the extreme most of the time".

This could range from leaning heavily into a particular car setup that works for him, the way he takes a particular corner, or even wheel-to-wheel racing.

Ocon and Alonso had a particularly spicy on-track duel in Saudi Arabia at the beginning of the season, with neither driver giving any quarter to the other as they jostled for position around Jeddah. And Ocon currently leads his two-time World Champion teammate in the Drivers' Championship by 11 points heading into the final two races.

It looks smooth

In an interview with The Race, the Frenchman discussed how he and his teammate stack up against each other in the way they drive.

"Not really," Ocon said when asked if he considers his driving style smooth.

"It can look smooth, yes, but I don't think many drivers could drift an F1 car, and I could if I wanted. But as soon as there's some [sideways] movement, it's not going to go fast.

"I probably feel it earlier than some drivers, like Fernando. He has a lot of movements, a lot of steering input, but in the last two seasons, we were probably the drivers that have crashed the least.

"And I think that's probably due to car control and confidence with the car. It looks smooth, but I feel it's the fastest way to go."

Outscoring teammates

Alonso has never been outscored by a teammate during his Formula 1 career, with only Lewis Hamilton equalling his points tally in the 2007 season.

He has bemoaned his bad luck throughout the year, believing he has lost at least 60 points through reliability issues and poor strategic decisions – with his fifth DNF of the season coming in Mexico City last time out through an engine