After his F1 comeback with Alpine this season, Fernando Alonso seems quite satisfied to be pairing up with teammate Esteban Ocon.

"Definitely I'm impressed and I'm happy to have Esteban alongside me," he told Motorsport.com. 

"He's very professional, he works very hard, not only here trackside but also in the simulator. We shared a lot of stuff."

According to the World Champion, they are working well together.

"While either of us is in the simulator, we try to be connected and work towards a better car." 

And he particularly appreciates the young driver's dedication and hard work. 

"I know that he puts a lot of dedication into the team. It's good for both drivers when you have a teammate who works very hard, so he's doing that." 

Nevertheless, there is still some competition between the two and so far Ocon has managed to finish ahead of Alonso in the second race of the year, the Emilia Romagna GP, as both drivers score their first points of the season.

"At the same time, you want to be as fast as your teammate or a little bit faster every time. This time [in Imola qualifying] it didn't work into that way, but I will try the next one."

The Frenchman on his part appreciates being teammates with an experienced and successful driver like Alonso.

"It is a great chance to work with a world champion next to me, he is one of the top drivers out there," he said.

And despite the Spaniard's reputation, Ocon has found him easy to work with.

"A lot of people have told me things about him, and what I am seeing from the inside, I am really enjoying the cooperation so far. Fernando has a lot of honesty, so when he says something, he means it.

"We have very similar comments about the car and it is working really well. He has been very nice with me so far and he was one of the guys I was looking up to when I was younger." 

"It is very special for me to have a cooperation with Fernando, and I think it is going to be close all year."