Saturday’s F1 news includes Max Verstappen escaping an FIA punishment and the cause of Lewis Hamilton’s early Bahrain test exit.

Let’s rattle through the day’s main headlines at breakneck speed…

F1 news: Max Verstappen, Lewis Hamilton and more

FIA expected to take no action over Max Verstappen gesture

Williams junior Luke Browning was reportedly the target of Max Verstappen’s light-hearted middle-finger gesture during F1 2025 pre-season testing in Bahrain.

And the Red Bull driver is set to escape punishment for the act despite the FIA’s recent clampdown on driver misconduct.

Onboard footage of Verstappen’s car showed the reigning World Champion making the gesture as he passed the Williams pit wall during testing on Friday.

Read more: Williams driver the target of light-hearted Max Verstappen gesture as FIA stance revealed – report

Ferrari hydraulic issue the cause of Lewis Hamilton’s early testing exit?

A hydraulic issue with the Ferrari SF-25 forced the team to curtail Lewis Hamilton’s running on the final day of F1 2025 pre-season testing in Bahrain, it has been claimed.

Hamilton’s running ended with around 40 minutes left on the clock on Friday, with Ferrari confirming to PlanetF1.com that an “anomaly” on the data forced the team to stop as a “precaution.”

A report in Italy suggests that a hydraulic problem caused Hamilton’s stoppage.

Read more: Lewis Hamilton issue ‘no false alarm’ as Ferrari stoppage cause identified – report

New-look Ferrari catches Christian Horner’s eye in testing

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner says Ferrari are the “standout” team on the F1 2025 grid for introducing a number of different concepts with the F1 2025.

While most teams have opted for stability for the final season of the current regulations, Ferrari have produced what Fred Vasseur has described as a “completely new” car for 2025.

The SF-25 sees Ferrari move to the pullrod front suspension layout favoured by McLaren and Red Bull over recent years.

Read more: Christian Horner identifies ‘standout’ team from ‘similar’-looking F1 2025 grid

Johnny Herbert addresses FIA exit

Johnny Herbert has claimed that “certain people” spoke to FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem before the decision was taken to remove him from stewarding duties for the F1 2025 season.

The FIA announced in January that Herbert will no longer serve as a steward this year having deemed his punditry work “incompatible” with the role of an official.

Read more: Johnny Herbert addresses ‘the Verstappens’ with FIA sack plot also uncovered

New ‘mini DRS’ row on the horizon?

An unnamed F1 team boss has revealed that his outfit are keeping “a very close eye” on flexi wings ahead of the F1 2025 season, with some rear wings deemed to be still “quite flexible” despite an FIA clampdown.

Flexi wings became a major talking point in 2024 with McLaren’s so-called mini-DRS system coming under scrutiny after Oscar Piastri’s victory in Baku.

The FIA has taken further steps for F1 2025 with a new technical directive to come into force at the Spanish Grand Prix.

Read more: New ‘mini-DRS’ row brewing after pre-season testing in Bahrain