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Ferrari have been tipped to end their long world title drought in 2027 with Lewis Hamilton at the forefront of the Maranello renaissance.
Two-time world champion Emerson Fittipaldi believes the Scuderia are on the track to success despite their 2026 season unravelling somewhat since the summer break.
Hamilton himself enjoyed a miserable first year at Maranello, finishing the 2025 season in sixth place in the Drivers' standings, and a massive 86 points behind team-mate Charles Leclerc.
This season has been much more encouraging for the British legend and the Scuderia, despite recent high-profile misteps. They still sit second in the Constructors' standings behind the dominant Mercedes car.
Fittipaldi believes significant progress has been made, and believes that Hamilton's first year in Italy was very much a learning experience.
"Last year, I was quite upset when people were criticising Lewis Hamilton’s move," he told Betway.
"Every driver - myself, Ayrton Senna, Nelson Piquet - dreams of driving for Ferrari one day. Lewis has achieved everything there is to achieve with seven World Championships.
"When he had the offer to go to Ferrari, it was great for him to accept a new challenge. Last year was about learning the team, and this year he shows he's still extremely competitive."
The big knock on Ferrari in recent history, and in recent races, has been about flawed race strategy. Even Hamilton himself apologised for a strategic blunder after the Singapore when he ignored the instruction to pit under a Virtual Safety Car.
Fittipaldi though believes the issues are being overblown, adding: "Ferrari and Fred Vasseur have a very good organisation.
"They make strategic mistakes like any other team as they and Lewis did [in Singapore], but Ferrari is competitive now, and Lewis is running strong and showing his talent. I am very happy to see that."
Much of Ferrari's energy is now being focused on their 2027 car, with that 18-year-old championship drought guaranteed to continue for at least another 12 months. Fittipaldi believes the long wait could finally be over.
"Next year Ferrari have a good chance of winning the championship, no doubt. Even Leclerc showed it; they are able to keep the tyres surviving longer than before.
"They still need to improve the car on all tyre compounds, but they are working on that for sure."