Mario Andretti is a big admirer of what he has seen from Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc at Ferrari in the 2026 F1 season, and hopes they can fight for the title in 2027.

The Scuderia had briefly begun to dream about winning the F1 drivers’ title for the first time since 2007 earlier this term, after Hamilton and Leclerc each secured Grand Prix wins to end Mercedes’ dominance. But their dreams for taking the title back to Maranello quickly faded.

Now, Hamilton faces a fight from Red Bull rival Max Verstappen as well as Mercedes’ George Russell to finish second in the standings. Mercedes talent Andrea Kimi Antonelli, meanwhile, has his first chance to lift the 2026 F1 title at the United States Grand Prix in round 18 of 23.

Kimi Antonelli and Max Verstappen have scored the most points since round 7/23 in Barcelona 🌟 How will the drivers' standings finish?

Mario Andretti praises Lewis Hamilton for how he ‘bounced back’ from a ‘difficult’ 2025

The Scuderia’s early promise did not persist beyond Hamilton scoring his first Grand Prix win for Ferrari in Barcelona and Leclerc winning in Britain. The Briton and the Monegasque even needed some fortune, as Antonelli retired in Montmelo and had a broken car at Silverstone.

But despite their tepid results, Andretti believes Hamilton has shown the “true champion” he is in 2026 by bouncing back from a devastatingly poor first season as a Ferrari driver in 2025. Hamilton endured what he admitted was his “worst season ever” in F1 last year, as the seven-time champion failed to take a Grand Prix podium in a season for the first time.

Andretti told Gazzetta dello Sport: “I’m hoping for an even stronger Ferrari [next year]. This year, they’ve taken a huge step forward compared to last season, and I hope they’ll be even more competitive next season so they can challenge for the world championship.

“Lewis Hamilton has bounced back like a true champion after a very difficult season, and Charles Leclerc continues to prove himself an excellent driver.

“Let’s hope we can see them battling for the title in 2027, perhaps even against Antonelli. It would be incredible for all the fans, Italian and otherwise.”

Andretti knew he could not count Hamilton out ahead of the 2026 season, despite his woes in the final year of the ground-effect era upon joining Ferrari last year. The American-Italian also noted in January that Hamilton could “absolutely” still win his eighth title in F1 one day.

Hamilton left Mercedes one year early to join Ferrari from the 2025 F1 season as he felt the time had come to leave the team with whom he won six of his seven titles. The Briton’s exit then freed Toto Wolff to replace the most-successful F1 driver in history with Antonelli, who is due to become the youngest-ever champion at only 20 years old in his second year in F1.

Who will complete a full set of wins on each F1 circuit first, Lewis Hamilton or Max Verstappen?

Both Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen do not have wins at three circuits on the 2027 F1 calendar

Moving to Maranello was the realisation of Hamilton’s childhood dream of racing for Ferrari, but driving for the pride of Italy proved to be a “nightmare” in 2025. The 40-year-old scored just 156 points, for his worst return under the scoring system that F1 has utilised since 2010.

But Hamilton always viewed joining Ferrari in 2025 as his chance to embed himself with the team during the final year of the ground-effect era that he hated. And F1’s 2026 regulations have helped Hamilton return to form, with 229 points after 17 rounds and a Grand Prix win.

Hamilton is also close to bettering the 240 points he scored in 2022 for his best return in the ground-effect era with Mercedes or Ferrari. The Briton also secured 234 points in 2023 and 223 in 2024 before he decided to leave the Silver Arrows, only to take 156 points for Ferrari.

Ferrari have also seen Hamilton reach six Grand Prix podiums through the first 17 rounds of the 2026 F1 regulations era. The Stevenage-born star only ever secured more podiums in a season during the ground-effect era in 2022 with nine, but also scored six podiums in 2023.