Piastri was later handed a three-place grid drop for impeding but teammate Lando Norris, winner last time out in Miami, moved up to take his place.

"I think yes," Piastri said when asked whether he could fight Verstappen.

"Normally in the past we’d say no but I think with our recent performances, we’ve learned to say yes. So we’ll see what we can do.

"We’ve definitely been on the pace all weekend. You can never count out Max and Red Bull, of course, like we’ve just seen, but I think the confidence is high."

Norris said it would be 'excitingly close' and cautioned also that Imola was a tough circuit to overtake on.

McLaren have a strong record at the Italian track, dating back to the days when the late Brazilian triple champion Ayrton Senna was racing for them.

Verstappen's teammate and closest championship rival Sergio Perez will start 11th on Sunday.