Daniel Ricciardo has joked he should start future races from the rear of the grid after producing another stunning drive to claim fourth place in Monza.

The Australian started 16th in Italy and took advantage of a long stint on the harder compound tyre before switching to the quicker option tyre with 20 laps remaining. Ricciardo then began closing in on former teammate Sebastian Vettel by over a second a lap, however was unable to reach the Ferrari before the chequered flag.

It's the second time in four races Ricciardo has sliced his way through the field. At July's British Grand Prix he made up 14 places to finish fifth and earn praise from many in the paddock and has since spoken publicly about how he feels he should be in the fight for the world championship.

"Two of my most enjoyable races have been Silverstone and today. Maybe we should start at the back more often," said Ricciardo. "When you have the pace obviously to come through the field makes it better, but when you have a fight and can try and outfox your opponents it is good fun."

(Photo by Clive Rose/Getty Images)

"My engineer was telling me that we were catching [Vettel] at the end. At one second a lap we were going to get really close, but then he was able to turn up the pace and I was using every bit of my Pirelli tire that I could. In the end there was nothing else I could do."

Red Bull opted to take engine penalties on both its cars this weekend as Monza has traditionally been a circuit the Milton Keynes based outfit has struggled at in the past. However, rain in qualifying meant both Ricciardo and teammate Max Verstappen were able to qualify in the top three and Sunday proved again the Red Bull had some genuine pace around the Italian circuit.

"We always say Monza is a weak circuit, but we tend to have really good races here," Ricciardo said. "If we are having a rebirth, Singapore will be a big action for us, hopefully we have a big baby there in terms of a trophy."