As F1 heads to Azerbaijan and Singapore, Red Bull has no option by to adopt survival mode as it looks to damage limitation and reducing the hurt.
The Italian Grand Prix was the low point in an eventful season for Red Bull.
The Milton Keynes-based team looked set to dominate again this year with Max Verstappen, but have looked on aghast as McLaren, Ferrari and Mercedes have delivered faster cars and closed the points gap.
Red Bull now has to pull out all the stops to keep up with the pace of its rivals, something it has failed to do of late.
At the revamped Monza, the extent of Red Bull's problems were laid bare. Verstappen and Sergio Perez struggled to handle a car that failed to turn all weekend, finishing a lowly sixth and eighth.
It means the gap to McLaren in the constructors' championship has shrunk to a paltry eight points.
Worse still, it does not appear as if a solution is imminent. Red Bull is struggling with balance problems with its RB20. It understands the core issue, but a desperately-needed adjustment is unlikely until the United States Grand Prix in Austin.
Therefore, the upcoming Azerbaijan and Singapore Grand Prix will be a matter of survival for Red Bull, especially considering the problem of riding the bumps and kerbs that may well rear its ugly head again.
