Verstappen shares candid admission: 'It's not nice to leave Lily home'

Lily Verstappen, the first child Kelly Piquet and Max Verstappen have together, was born ahead of last year's Miami Grand Prix. She is now more than a year old and is beginning to understand more about the world.

The four-time world champion said to Formule 1 Magazine: "Our daughter Lily is my greatest achievement. Family is the most important thing to me anyway."

According to the Dutchman, it is now difficult to leave his home. "Yes, that is starting to happen now. For example, when I flew here, the little one was standing by the elevator at home when I got in to go down. And then the doors close; well, that’s not a very nice feeling.

The Red Bull Racing driver explained that he had experienced the same when his father, Jos, was competing. "I know I did that myself when I was little and my father left home. Crying and stuff. My father always found that difficult too."

Verstappen says it has been a "tough" first half of the season after the Hungarian Grand Prix. The Red Bull Racing driver is still searching for his first Formula 1 victory of 2026.

The Dutchman had a clear verdict. "Tough. In general, it’s been very tough. Some good moments, some bright, shining moments, I guess, but overall, tough."

He added: "So, I think we need to try and be more solid, a bit more all-round, to have more straightforward weekends. Plus, we need to find more performance. I mean, it’s as simple as that at the end of the day. Then, besides finding more performance, just not having the issues as well with the current package, let’s say, that we have."