"Takes a lickin and keeps on tickin" - Fans react to Max Verstappen's perilously ominous tap to the wall in Monaco

F1 Grand Prix of Monaco
Max Verstappen (1) on track during the 2023 F1 Monaco Grand Prix. (Photo by Peter Fox/Getty Images)

Max Verstappen yet again showcased a dominant performance in the 2023 F1 Monaco GP. The Dutchman managed to take pole position in the qualifying session and keep the lead for the entirety of the race distance. However, he too had some nail-biting moments during the race where he could have crashed for pushing too hard.

One of these moments was recently posted on the official F1 Twitter account. In the video, Max Verstappen is seen going through turns 15 and 16 in Monaco, barely grazing the exit barriers in the latter stages of the race.

Despite being on intermediate tires, it was not an easy race for the two-time world champion. However, the Red Bull driver was still comfortably ahead of Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso, who was in second place.

Seeing Max Verstappen push his car to the absolute limit even after being 20 seconds ahead of Fernando Alonso, many F1 fans were impressed by the Dutchman's drive.

The comment section of the video was filled with praise for the Red Bull driver and how he keeps pushing even in those treacherous conditions.

"Takes a lickin and keeps on tickin," a fan tweeted.

Despite the chaotic race, Verstappen managed to win the race by a 27-second lead and further extended his lead in the drivers' championship table.

The Monaco GP is always an intense race for all F1 drivers due to how narrow the track is. Hence, many other drivers, apart from the Dutchman, were also seen using every inch of the track and barely grazing the barriers as well.


Max Verstappen on the tricky 2023 F1 Monaco GP

After winning the 2023 F1 Monaco GP, Max Verstappen expressed his initial thoughts and addressed how tricky the race was. He stated how he had to elongate his first stint on the medium tires simply because Fernando Alonso was on hards and was comfortable without a pit stop.

Furthermore, when the rain came, Verstappen and his race engineer immediately decided to go for intermediate tires to keep the lead in the race.

Speaking to David Coulthard in Parc Ferme after the race, the Red Bull driver said:

"It was quite a difficult one because we were on the Medium initial and of course Fernando was on the hard tire. We didn't want to go that long, but we had to. The rain was coming so we didn't know really what was going on. Then it started to rain. Lap by lap it was more and more so at one point we had to go on the Inters. It's quite difficult in that scenario."

Max Verstappen is currently at the top of the drivers' championship table with 144 points, further extending his lead by 25 points.

The Dutchman has further increased his chances of winning the world championship in 2023 following his teammate Sergio Perez' horrible run in Monaco.

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