Esteban Ocon says speculation over his imminent sacking by Haas is pure BS.

Having been overshadowed by his rookie teammate, Oliver Bearman, last season, the Frenchman continues to struggle this year.

Ahead of the season team boss, Ayao Komatsu, was critical of Ocon, essentially warning him to pull his socks up, and the latest speculation is said to be over a falling out between the two in Miami.

"Honestly, it's complete bulls*** to be honest," Ocon told reporters in Montreal today. "It's unbelievable, we were just talking with Ayao just now.

"The article I saw was calling him 'Ryo Komatsu,' which is quite funny," he continued. "They were even saying that we had a massive dispute in Miami, which is complete nonsense.

"Honestly, it's all fabricated and complete bulls***," he insisted. "As I said before, I came to this team for the reason that I know Ayao since so long. I've got a great relationship with him. That's always been the case, and there's nothing like what people have been saying going on.

"It's completely not true," said the Frenchman, who worked with Komatsu at Lotus in 2014, whilst still a development driver. "I'm fully focused on what I have to do, the job I have to do with the team, I'm fully on board with the team for the whole year.

"I've got a contract with the team," he added. "Ayao will tell you more later, but honestly, it's crazy how things have escalated. Honestly, it's been like... I try not to pay attention too much, but when it gets so big, it's almost like bullying in a way. It became so big that obviously you can't just not notice it, you know. If you live in a cave, maybe, but you cannot."

Referring to Miami, where the falling out is said to have occurred, he said: "We discussed a lot of different things, how to maybe improve this, how to get better, what was going on with the car on the weekend. It was just a normal conversation. So, I don't know who's fabricating this, but I better not see this guy, because he's going to get a big one.

"I think you guys didn't write anything in particular," he added, referring to the assembled journos, "you guys are the good journalists, you guys verify your sources. So, I don't think the person who wrote this article is here right now, which is a shame!"

Asked how affected he was personally by the speculation, he said: "Obviously, I'm human. So, it does affect in a way. It does affect my family. It does affect the sponsors. That are obviously counting on me and supporting me for many races and seasons for some sponsors that I got.

"And it's disappointing to see that you can make such damage to a reputation of a driver. In two or three days. While there's nothing founded. And these people would just get away with no issues. They just fabricate stories."

Like his teammate, Ocon is on a "multi-year" contract, but that doesn't mean much these days. Effectively 'on loan' from Ferrari, it is unlikely that Bearman will quit Haas for the Maranello outfit unless there was a major change at the Scuderia.

Asked about his future and whether he will be with Haas next season, Ocon said: "All these chats, they happen in summer. They always do. So, at the moment, we are just focusing on what we have to do now, and then we'll see about the future later. But there's no emergency or dispute, that we don't talk with Ayao or the team. It's all been fabricated."