Eddie Jordan's team were dogged by retirements early in the season and failed to win a point in the first five races.
Engineering director Gary Anderson realised their problems were due to a hydraulic pump problem, but making a replacement would take time.
So he enlisted the help of his dentist in Northamptonshire.
Crowning performance
"The pump required very intricate work inside a 15mm diameter hole," Anderson said.
"We didn't have the equipment but I knew there must be a way of solving the problem.
"I called my dentist to see if he had any old equipment we could borrow and he asked to take a look.
"He did a really good job. We ran them for the first time in Austria and Giancarlo (Fisichella) came home fifth."
Jordan followed that up with points-scoring performances in the next two races.
And they will be hoping to cap their turnaround with another good performance at the British Grand Prix this weekend.