Q&A TOM MCCULLOUGH, FORCE INDIA CHIEF ENGINEER

How was Esteban able to make such impressive progress so quickly? The natural ability was there from the start. But his ability to work with engineers is natural to him as well. He’s an endearing character. He also watches Sergio, who is good at that as well, realises how it’s working for him, and thinks, ‘I want to be part of that.’ I think Esteban has been very fortunate to have Sergio as his reference.

Sergio seems close to a fully rounded driver now… He’s definitely right at the peak of his career – this is the phase for him where the consistency is there in qualifying and racing. We’ve seen that over the last 24 months, if not a bit more. We’ve been very, very happy to have Sergio there, and it’s been great how hard Esteban has pushed him.

There were several flashpoints between them. Where did that come from and why did it take so long to get on top of?

At the start of the year it was important in each of their heads that they come out on top. The pressure was there on Sergio to not be beaten by the young, up-and-coming guy; for Esteban, he’s trying to show Mercedes and the rest of the world that he’s got the ability to be better than the established driver. So, it was always going to be fierce. A lot of people from rival teams have said to me what a disaster it’s been and how badly it’s been managed, but looking at other teams – some with one very good driver and one very bad one – we had a slightly difficult phase, but they were nice problems to have. The good thing is, having been through all that and seen how the team has reacted, the drivers have really changed – it’s a better relationship than they had even at the start of the season.