The 2024 Formula 1 season was an exercise in damage mitigation on the part of Red Bull Racing — the once-dominant team that suddenly began to flounder.

Max Verstappen on the not “quite 100 percent ” season

In an interview with De Telegraaf, Verstappen pinpointed just how critical Monza was to the evolution of the team — and how it proved that the team wasn’t ready to evolve.

“All plans for new parts that were to come after that could go in the bin,” Verstappen told De Telegraaf, translated into English.