Former Haas F1 team principal Guenther Steiner has warned Williams it is not close to challenging for race victories, with a "big" gap remaining to reach the top four teams.
Williams has made huge strides under the leadership of James Vowles who replaced Jost Capito as team principal at the start of 2023, marking the start of a major transformation.
The British team has been modernised after using extremely old equipment for several years, triggering a stark improvement in results.
Vowles wants to get Williams to the top of F1, although has now at least reached the top of the midfield.
Carlos Sainz's first podium for the Grove-based outfit in the Azerbaijan GP has put Williams in a commanding position in fifth, 29 points ahead of Racing Bulls in sixth.
Steiner is adamant Williams is the fifth strongest team on the grid this season and will claim the spot in the constructors' championship, although is far away from breaking into the top four.
Asked on the Red Flags podcast if Sainz's Baku podium was a sign of things to come, Steiner answered: "No, I think it's an outlier. Obviously, they had an opportunity, and they took it.
"But they are now, in my opinion, clearly the fifth best team, but the step to being the top four is still big. At the moment, they're not there. Still a long way to go, but I would say the only ones which at the moment can get somehow near them is Racing Bulls, all the other ones they left behind.
"And obviously, Williams sometimes have a bad race. But in general, if you take the average [result], just look at how many points they've got. They are the fifth best team at the moment.
"Now that picture becomes very clear, so they don't have to worry about not finishing fifth. Obviously, they look backwards to Racing Bulls, because Racing Bulls has been strong the last races.
"But Williams cannot challenge the top four. They are quite a bit away from them, but they made their own space in the championship in P5 pretty clear."
Also interesting:
Join RacingNews365's Ian Parkes, Sam Coop and Nick Golding, as they look back on the Azerbaijan Grand Prix! Oscar Piastri's shock Baku crashes are a major talking point, as is whether Max Verstappen has drawn himself back into the F1 title fight.
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