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Daniel Ricciardo was third in the sprint qualifier at Monza and will start second on the grid for Sunday's Italian Grand Prix after his best day with McLaren.

Elated Australian F1 star Daniel Ricciardo has declared that he's back in business after a third place finish in the experimental sprint race qualifier earned him a place on the front row at the Italian Grand Prix.

Ricciardo, who's struggled to make an impact in his first season with McLaren while constantly being outshone by Lando Norris, at last eclipsed his British teammate in the novel 18-lap dash at Monza to earn a world championship point on Saturday.

Better still, the Perth driver will start second on the grid in Sunday's Grand Prix after sprint winner Valtteri Bottas was denied pole and demoted to the back of the grid for Sunday's race as a penalty for taking new engine parts.

Championship leader Max Verstappen will start on pole after finishing second in the sprint and will hope to extend his advantage in the standings after a bad day for his main rival, world champion Lewis Hamilton, who finished fifth following a dismal start.

For the 32-year-old Ricciardo, though, there was just delight in feeling he was back where he belonged among the elite after a vintage overtaking move on the first corner saw him move past Hamilton and Bottas and go third.

"It has been a long time to be in this position so it is good to be back," Ricciardo told reporters after eventually finishing over 14 seconds behind the victorious Bottas.

"Tomorrow is the important one but we gained a position from Valtteri's problems, so we are on the front row and that has been a long time, so very happy for that.

"I think I've done the job today, ticked the box to get me in a better starting spot... I think it was a smooth Saturday."

Ricciardo will join Verstappen on the front row for the first time since Mexico 2018 when the pair were teammates at Red Bull.

And asked about how he'd approach tackling his old colleague, Ricciardo smiled that he'd go on "full attack" to try to get past.

In a dramatic opening to the sprint, AlphaTauri's Pierre Gasly hit the back of Ricciardo's car at the first chicane and crashed out, forcing the safety car to be employed until the end of lap three.

But the Aussie did enough to pick up one championship point for his third place finish, while Bottas earned three and Verstappen two.

Those valuable points saw the Dutchman extend his Championship lead over Hamilton to five points while Ricciardo currently lies ninth overall.