Hamilton backed by former world champion: 'I hope he can challenge for the title'

Entering the second half of the 2026 F1 season, Hamilton is sitting in second place in the drivers' standings. The British driver is 50 points behind Kimi Antonelli and nine points ahead of the Italian's Mercedes teammate, George Russell.

Fittipaldi, who has also explained that he could relate to Hamilton last season because he was previously called “too old” when competing in F1 and IndyCar, would like to see Hamilton battle for the biggest prize.

Speaking to F1.com, the Brazilian said: "I really hope Lewis challenges for the championship. It’d be extremely good to see Lewis and Ferrari running stronger, to dice with Mercedes. I hope so."

Moreover, the former F1 world champion also praised Ferrari team principal Frederic Vasseur. "I have a lot of respect for [Ferrari team boss] Fred Vasseur. When I owned the A1 Team Brazil [in A1 Grand Prix], Fred [and his ART Grand Prix outfit] ran our team and did a great job. He’s a good guy, a top guy. I think now he knows the Italians well! So, it should be good, the second part."

Thierry Boutsen also agreed with Fittipaldi picking Ferrari: "I’d like to see Ferrari at the top again more regularly. I think they deserve it, as they worked so hard to get there, to get back into a good shape. I would also like to see Charles winning a few races. He’s Monegasque, I’m Monegasque, so I’m the Tifosi for him! But I’d like to see good racing no matter what. Good, fun, safe racing."