Ferrari has decided to make wholesale changes to its car for next year to dial out its unpredictable and sometimes downright crippling handling issues that have held back Sainz and team-mate Charles Leclerc.
The pair often qualified reasonably well, with Leclerc even taking two poles, but have then fallen back through the order on the most demanding circuits, with the SF-23's high-downforce weakness not only affecting driver confidence but also its tyre wear.
Having concluded that its handling issues are intrinsic to its current chassis, the team has now shifted focus towards the 2024 project, which will feature a new chassis and rear end.
Meanwhile, the Scuderia has started using Friday's first practice as a test session for next year, where it is free to experiment with a wide array of set-up choices before having to move towards a track-specific set-up.
Spending an hour not working on an optimal set-up for the rest of the race weekend could come at the expense of its 2023 constructors' championship, where it still battles Mercedes and Aston Martin for second place, but Sainz believes concentrating on 2024 is the right call.
“Don’t get me wrong, there is still a constructors’ championship to fight with Mercedes and Aston Martin for," Sainz replied when asked by Autosport if he backs the team's 2024 shift.
"We still believe we can come out on top if we do a perfect job, but there is also the fact that we need to use these practice sessions to keep trying things.
Source: Autosport