Federer beat Wawrinka in the final of Indian Wells on Sunday for his second win of the year following his triumph in the Australian Open - his 18th grand slam title and his first in four and a half years.
Those wins have propelled the Swiss master to sixth in the world as he makes excellent progress aftera six-month layoff caused by a knee injury.
Compatriot Wawrinka believes that not only is Federer back in form but he is playing in a noticeably different manner that gives him a chance to return to the pinnacle of the rankings.
"For sure he has a shot for number one, he has just won the first Masters final. For sure he has a big shot," he told reporters.
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Andre Agassi holds the record for being the oldest player to hold the men's No.1 ranking, at the age of 33.
"It is going to be interesting to see. Rafa (Nadal) is playing well also and we will see when Novak (Djokovic) and Andy (Murray) are back from injury, it is going to be really interesting for tennis fans," Wawrinka said.
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Wawrinka said it wasn't a shock to see Federer, who now has 90 career titles, back to such form but that he was particularly impressed by his movement.
Federer said he was well ahead of his target of reaching the top eight before Wimbledon and said he was enjoying the very different feeling of success late in his career.
"At 25 I was winning 95% of my matches and eventually you are just on this train where you just keep rolling and you just expect yourself to win a lot, you play many more tournaments and you are just racing from one to the next, it was an incredible experience to be able to keep that high level for so long and be beating so many other guys and win so many finals in a row, I had some unbelievable records," he said.
Federer could face a strong challenge from old rival Rafa Nadal who is seeking his first ever win in Miami after losing in four finals at the Key Biscayne venue.