Why F1's overachiever faces a crossroads

Mercedes is receiving the plaudits after another spectacular Formula 1 season and rightly so. Defending the drivers' and constructors' championships across a major regulation change is historic. It is its fourth successive double, echoing Red Bull's achievement through relatively stable rules between 2010 and '13.

But the accolade for the most impressive achievement of the year can be found three spaces down the field.

Force India, once a team that frequented the back row of the grid, enhanced its reputation as F1's great overachiever by finishing fourth in the constructors' championship for the second successive year.

Since businessman Vijay Mallya bought the former Spyker team and renamed it Force India for 2008, it has finished 10-9-7-6-7-6-6-5-4-4 in the constructors' title race. The consistency in that rise, over a long period of time, is remarkable.

When Mallya made the purchase, the general view was that he would have the same mindset as many new owners who enter F1 with ambitious plans for success but not much patience. But he has proved to be quite the opposite.

Mallya's shrewdest move was to entice now deputy team principal Bob Fernley, who had become a good friend, back to motorsport and into F1. The two met when Mallya travelled up to Alderley Edge in Cheshire on a rainy day in the early 1980s. Mallya wanted to source a Formula 1 car and Fernley had a stable of them. They did a deal and began a working relationship that continues today.

Mallya loves motorsport. He's hugely invested in it. But he knew he did not have the expertise to run a team himself. Fernley, whom he trusts, could fulfil that function. Critically, he has been given time to deliver results.

Fernley put in place a five-year plan and set about building a solid foundation on which Force India could build a long-term future.

Mallya then set about creating a team of pure racers. He recruited Otmar Szafnauer, who had experience at BAR, Jaguar and Honda, to focus on sharpening the operations side of the business. His input has grown over time, taking over the day-to-day running of the team and playing a key role in decision-making while Fernley's role has evolved to focus more on strategic future planning.

Szafnauer drafted in technical director Andrew Green in 2010 and chief engineer Tom McCullough in 2014. Both have played key roles in boosting the team's pure performance. Together with sporting director Andy Stevenson, who has been a rock throughout the outfit's rise, Force India has developed a ruthlessly efficient team of personnel.

One of Mallya's early milestones was agreeing a revolutionary 'technical partnership' deal with McLaren for Force India to take gearboxes and hydraulics systems from the following season.

In 2008, the team put a huge amount of effort and resource into developing its own seamless-shift gearbox. It did not appear until midway through the season and made very little difference to its position in the pecking order.

The McLaren deal, for the following year, was more cost-effective and a technical relationship of a kind that F1 had never seen before. It was a partnership, not just a customer buying a supply. Force India also swapped to Mercedes power, from Ferrari, for 2009 and that agreement became long-term in 2013.

From 2014, when the V6 turbo hybrid engines were introduced, Force India continued to use Mercedes power but enhanced the deal to include the supply of gearbox and hydraulics systems until the end of 2020. Not only did it give the team what would emerge as the class-leading power unit, but also the stability that all teams crave.

With Force India maximising what it could via third parties, it could spend its resources on aerodynamic development and its facility. The team had suffered from years of under-investment in the declining days of Jordan and then through the forgettable Midland/Spyker era.

While piggy-backed on the big teams through technical partnerships has helped Force India move up the grid, there is a ceiling with such a business model

It upgraded its Silverstone base, including developing its CFD capacity, while also making the step to switch windtunnels in 2015. Its own tunnel had a 50% model. Now it would use Toyota's facility in Cologne that operates the more commonly used 60% models.

The move hurt Force India's results towards the back end of the year, but the pain was worth taking as it enhanced the quality and efficiency of its aerodynamic development and that in turn produced performance on track.

Force India has brought updates to the car consistently throughout this season, including unique elements such as its stegosaurus engine cover. While it struggled to get the most out of those parts midway through the year, it has had more success after the summer break and could keep up with rivals in the development race.

Reliability has been key, too. It has scored 32 points finishes this year. Only Mercedes has more with 35.

Recruitment across the team has been considered. As well as the gradual growth of its technical department, another key string to its bow is Force India's driver policy.

Since it started, the team has always had strong drivers. Some have brought financial backing with them, but they have all had good ability. Of Adrian Sutil, Giancarlo Fisichella, Vitantonio Liuzzi, Paul di Resta, Nico Hulkenberg, Sergio Perez and Esteban Ocon, Liuzzi was arguably the weakest - and he was still a Formula 3000 champion, World Karting champion and ex-Red Bull junior driver.

That has paid the team back handsomely. It motivates the technical team and engineers as they know both that the drivers are pushing the package and that they are more likely to score consistently, which brings more prize money and more budget for the following year.

By running two competitive drivers, a team runs the risk of in-fighting. Mercedes experienced it over the past few seasons with Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton, and Force India has encountered a similar situation this year.

Highly-rated Mercedes protege Ocon has been keen to prove himself, with the carrot of a potential seat at the works Mercedes team within his grasp. Perez, now an experienced F1 racer, is keen not to be pushed around and to prove he still has what it takes to compete for a big team.

It resulted in on-track clashes, most notably in Azerbaijan, where the collision robbed the team of a podium. Force India opted to continue letting them race but the final straw came in Belgium when the pair made contact not once but twice.

Mallya came down hard on both drivers, insisting on team orders. Force India could have taken action sooner, but it prides itself on being a pure and proper racing team. So the ruthless and efficient way in which its chiefs reacted after Belgium showed courage.

Both drivers have obeyed the rules since and the result has been fourth in the constructors' championship.

It was a tough call to make, and Force India may well loosen the reins in the future, but had the relationship imploded, one driver would have been forced to leave and the team would have lost one of the best pairings on the grid.

When it is competing against teams with significantly bigger budgets, Force India needs every advantage it can get. The manner in which it dealt with the drivers this year, therefore allowing it to retain its policy of signing talent, has allowed it to maximise its situation.

Force India can take great pride in what it has achieved during 10 years in F1

Mallya and Fernley have made big decisions and ultimately, they have paid off. A steady move up the grid has allowed Force India to emerge as the fourth-best team in Formula 1.

Last year, it scored 8.238 points per race. This year, that has improved to 9.722 so far. It is well-down on third-placed Red Bull, which is on 18.889, even with poor reliability. But at the other end of the spectrum, Sauber is on 0.278.

It's quite remarkable considering Force India has a budget of around $90million, which based on last year's figures is the smallest of all 10 teams on the grid and around a third of that spent by Ferrari. That equates to $514,285 spent per point scored, which reflects well compared to Mercedes spending $445,378 per point, Ferrari $659,340 and Red Bull $632,352.

"We have the smallest budget of anybody in Formula 1, and that forces us to do some things differently and maybe look at things differently to some of the others," says chief operating officer Szafnauer.

"It's not easy, and next year will be even more difficult. I'm grateful to everybody at Silverstone. That's where most of the work happens.

"What the world sees is what we do at the track but I've got to thank the entire team. The guys and girls have done a fabulous job this year, especially to keep on developing the car like we have until the end."

While piggy-backing on the big teams through technical partnerships has helped Force India move up the grid, there is a ceiling with such a business model.

Fourth may be as far as it can expect to go, and retaining that for a third year will be tough, particularly given McLaren and Renault should be stronger next season.

It also remains uncertain whether Mercedes will want to continue such a close technical partnership with the team beyond 2021, when cost-cutting measures may have been enforced, given Force India operates efficiently on a small budget and is therefore well-placed to make big gains in such a scenario.

For now, though, Force India can take great pride in what it has achieved during 10 years in F1. A sharp focus will be on Fernley's third five-year plan.

Will the team push on with this model, in the hope that cost-cutting measures will be introduced and it can get even more out of it? Or will it realise change and heavier investment is needed if it is to ever have a chance of breaking into the top three?