Williams team boss Jost Capito has said that it could be at least five years before the team is challenging back up at the front of the grid in Formula 1.

The Grove-based team have had a fair amount of struggles in recent years with finances getting tight, but they are hoping now for a better future.

Indeed, Dorilton Capital have been bankrolling the team for the last couple of seasons and gradual progress is being made on the track, with the team trying to establish itself more in the midfield than it has in recent seasons.

Alex Albon and Nicholas Latifi are the drivers tasked with helping them with that aim this season, then, but Capito admits that it is going to take a while before one of the sport's most iconic outfits is back where it will feel it belongs.

“So we are pretty aware that it’s a minimum five-year programme," he told Motorsport Magazine in an interview.

"We have seen that in the past, when Ferrari came back it took five years, and they didn’t come back from P10! We’ve seen that with McLaren, we’ve seen that with everybody, it takes five years because you are in a constant year-by-year development and to do changes is two-to-three years.

"Then until everything is established and works out it’s another year or two. So if you don’t have it agreed that it’s a five-year program then you have no chance.”

IMOLA, ITALY - APRIL 24: Alexander Albon of Thailand driving the (23) Williams FW44 Mercedes on track during the F1 Grand Prix of Emilia Romagna at Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari on April 24, 2022 in Imola, Italy. (Photo by Clive Mason/Getty Images)

It's certainly a realistic outlook that Capito has and he's clearly trying to temper expectations within the team.

Hopefully it won't be too long until we see Williams back at the front, though, as they're one of the great names in F1 and certainly one of the most successful.

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