Ferrari's Q3 strategy blunder appears to be the final nail in the coffin in which Ferrari's and Sebastian Vettel's 2018 title hopes will be laid to rest some time very soon.

However, while some wait on the rotund woman to stop gargling and start singing, Max Verstappen believes it's already done and dusted.

Asked at today's press conference, whether, with both Ferraris starting behind him tomorrow, he would get involved in Sebastian Vettel's bid to hunt down Lewis Hamilton to keep his title hopes alive, the 21-year-old drily replied: "Is it still a battle? Not sure."

The Dutchman put his Red Bull third on the grid, albeit 1.2s off Hamilton's pace, but with an eye on last week's amazing comeback in Sochi, when the youngster finished fifth after starting from the back of the grid, Verstappen is odds-on favourite for a podium finish tomorrow.

"I honestly don't think we can take the fight to Mercedes," he admitted. "If Ferrari had not made its mistake it would have been hard to beat them but we made the right call in Q3 and that's why we're third.

"After yesterday I was really not happy but today it was a lot better," he added. "I felt happier. It's difficult to find a good compromise, losing quite a lot on the straights and then gaining a lot of downforce. It evens out a bit. I didn't expect to start third, of course we have a bigger chance now to be on the podium."

Check out our Saturday gallery from Suzuka, here.