Former Haas Formula 1 team principal Guenther Steiner has dampened the excitement of Carlos Sainz’s first podium finish with Williams at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, claiming that he does not think it is a sign of things to come.
The Spanish driver secured the third spot on the podium at the Baku City Circuit after starting from second on the grid, marking not only his first podium since joining the Grove outfit at the start of the season but also the first podium for the team under the leadership of James Vowles.
Williams has seen a boost in performance this season. It currently sits fifth in the constructors’ standings with seven rounds remaining, which Steiner believes the team will maintain until the end of the season.
But when asked if the podium was a sign of things to come during an appearance on The Red Flags Podcast, the former Haas chief claimed the team made the most of the opportunity, but the gap to the top four teams is still big.
“No, I think it’s an outlier,” Steiner said. “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.
Carlos Sainz, Williams
Photo by: Clive Rose / Getty Images
“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.”
