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Ferrari plans to provide an evolution of its power unit ahead of the season-opening Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix.

Over the course of the current first test in Barcelona, Ferrari is running the rule over its latest system that is also being run by Haas, while Sauber is using its 2015 car.

With engine development being opened up in some areas for this year, manufacturers have more freedom with how they can evolve their engines through the season.

Despite the short timeframe from the start of the test on Monday and the initial practice session for the race in Melbourne on March 18, updates to Ferrari's engine are expected.

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Shedding some light on Ferrari's plans, eponymous team owner Gene Haas said: "From what I understand the engine package we are running right now is not the engine package we are going to be running in Melbourne.

"These are more just test packages, so the engine will vary a little bit."

Asked whether its engine at this test at the Circuit de Catalunya was the same as the one being used by Ferrari, Haas replied: "I don't know.

"They've made a lot of changes [from last season], and according to them it's a whole new engine.

"So they probably have different packages of engines with different features on it that they want to make sure are reliable [during testing].

"I would imagine almost every engine has a little variation on it.

"The one thing they want us to do is to put in a lot of laps, take it back, look at it and see if there are any problems with what they are designing."

Aside from potential power unit alterations, Haas feels his car currently on show will not be too far removed from the one that will be seen in Australia.

"Obviously the chassis is homologated, so I don't think there's going to be that much different than what we are going to see in Melbourne," said Haas.

"Maybe the front wing will change a little bit given the reliability issues we've had, but I think what we are going to see here is the same as Melbourne."