When a team is not where they expect to be and they are not able to make any inroads, they may elect to try experimental setups. This involves putting one car out with a predetermined set-up and then making adjustments to the other car to measure the effects, with the hope of finding an advantage.
The change in setup could be literally anything, like ride height, rear wingF1 cars require dowforce to travel and corner at such significant speeds, with the rear wing generating approximately 20% of... There's more... size, engine cooling or engine mapping.