Isack Hadjar told of 'next step' with Red Bull in face of Max Verstappen challenge

Red Bull technical director Pierre Waché has outlined winning races as the "next step" for Isack Hadjar, albeit acknowledging the scale of the task the Frenchman faces in trying to match Max Verstappen.

Hadjar has scored three podiums in his first season alongside Verstappen; in Monaco, Baku and most recently in São Paulo, where he finished third after running second and yielding position to the four-time F1 champion under team orders.

Red Bull has already rewarded that progress, extending Hadjar's contract through 2027 on the back of regular top-six finishes and qualifying pace increasingly close to that of Verstappen.

It is a marked turnaround from the recent history of Red Bull's second seat, which proved brutally unforgiving for both Pierre Gasly and Alexander Albon, before each rebuilt their reputations elsewhere on the grid, as well as Liam Lawson.

Speaking to RacingNews365, Waché explained that Hadjar's development has been built on communication with his side of the garage as much as raw speed.

"First, he has to contribute for himself, to say what he needs to go quick," said Waché. "He has improved a lot since the start of the season. He clearly has pace in him, like we have seen.

"When you have a new engineer or a new driver, you have to get to know each other. You have to understand the vocabulary used for the needs he has.

"But he's developing well. He has massive potential in him, and a desire to win. That is what we are looking for.

"We need a second driver to be very good in the constructors' championship. That is our aim.

"He is in the right place, and he is the future of the team, otherwise we would not have taken him."

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Asked whether Hadjar is delivering in the way Red Bull hoped from its second driver, having gone through several difficult pairings in recent years, Waché was reluctant to dwell on the past.

"I don't want to look at that," he said. "Maybe it was difficult, and maybe it was our fault.

"At the moment, he is doing exactly what we need. To be honest, he is challenging the system; he is at the right position."

Pushed on what comes next after Hadjar's run of podium finishes, the technical director set out a clear marker.

"The next step will be to win races and everything, but he has his desire," said Waché. "He's developing, and to be fair with him, it's a tough job to be against the best driver."