Red Bull boss Christian Horner thinks it would be "foolish" to write off Lewis Hamilton's championship chances this season despite the 33-point deficit he faces with four races remaining.

A poor getaway meant Hamilton was forced into a recovery drive to third at the Japanese Grand Prix, though he still lost 10 points to Mercedes teammate and championship leader Nico Rosberg. The result meant Hamilton's destiny is no longer in his own hands as he could win the last four races and still not claim a fourth world title.

However, Horner says Hamilton "only needs a sniff of something" to change the momentum in his favour.

When asked to comment on the Mercedes title battle and Hamilton's chances, Horner replied: "I think in any sport you see sportsmen... They get on a crest of a wave and everything falls right for them. It's going Nico's way at the moment. Lewis has had quite a few tough weekends this year but he'll brush himself down for sure and he can fight back.

"He only needs that sniff of something, you know, a DNF for Nico and a win for Lewis and he's right back in the game again. Things can change so very quickly. We saw it from Kimi [Raikkonen] when he stole the championship from under Lewis and Fernando [Alonso]'s noses 10 years ago or whatever it was. There's still 100 points available in this championship and I would be a foolish person to rule him out at this stage."