F1: Lewis Hamilton says 'boring' Monza can be spent watching 'Game of Thrones'

Mercedes F1 driver Lewis Hamilton is taking a humorous approach to the Italian Grand Prix in Monza this Sunday, even though he will be forced to start all the way back in 19th place. He is expecting to get stuck in a DRS train at some point, and joked that he is thinking about watching "Game of Thrones" prequel "House of the Dragon" while he is stuck behind a string of cars.

The Monza circuit is notoriously tough when it comes to overtaking, and that was made even more so due to the introduction of DRS. Even if his Mercedes is faster than the cars in front, the slower cars will be able to defend easily once they are able to activate their DRS system.

"I was behind Valtteri Bottas in practice and couldn't catch him or pass him. So I hope I don't get stuck tomorrow," said Hamilton, as quoted by The Sun. Bottas is in a slower Alfa Romeo, but the Briton admitted that he was unable to challenge with his Mercedes.

Because of that, he knows that he may find himself in a boring position during race day. "I imagine I will be in a DRS train, sitting there and hoping for chances through strategy and tyre degradation from other drivers."

If he ends up getting stuck for a large part of the race, he joked that he might look for other ways to entertain himself such as the hit HBO series. "I was thinking of taking my iPad with me in the race and, when I am in a DRS line, I will just watch Game of Thrones."

Meanwhile, Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc qualified on pole and will be hoping to keep the position all the way to the chequered flag. He managed to do the same back in 2019, but he is well aware of the threats behind him.

Leclerc is the only driver who will start from the position where he qualified after the rest of the grid has been shuffled thanks to a large number of grid penalties taken by different drivers for new engine components.

Hamilton himself ended up in 19th after qualifying in fifth after a power unit change. Championship leader Max Verstappen also dropped back from second to seventh place, but remains to be the favourite to clinch the victory.

The Dutchman has already proven that his pace and his team's impeccable strategy can pull a victory out of the bag regardless of where he starts on the grid. In Belgium earlier this season, he breezed to victory despite starting from 14th place.