Horner says it would be "foolish" to write off Hamilton

Hamilton has fallen 33 points behind teammate Nico Rosberg after a poor start at Suzuka left him unable to do better than third.

With only four races remaining, the gap means that Rosberg can afford to finish second behind Hamilton in each of the final grands prix to still guarantee himself the drivers' crown.

But despite suggestions that Hamilton's tiff with the media in Suzuka were signs of him feeling the pressure of the title battle, Horner reckons that the Briton still has a good chance of bouncing back to triumph in the end.

"I think in any sport you can see sportsmen get on the crest of a wave and everything falls right for them," explained Horner. "It is going Nico's way at the moment.

"Lewis has had quite a few tough weekends this year, but he will brush himself down I am sure and he will fight back.

"He only needs that sniff of something. A DNF for Nico and a win for Lewis, and he is right back in the game again.

"Things can change so very quickly. We saw it with Kimi [Raikkonen] when he stole the championship from under Lewis and Fernando's noses 10 years ago.

"There are still 100 points available in this championship and it would be a foolish person to rule him out at this stage."