Max Verstappen has rubbished suggestions his performance at the Canadian Grand Prix was heavily influenced by having a smaller entourage around him after a trouble free weekend in Montreal.

Verstappen went the entire race weekend without recording a single crash for the first time this year having suffered six accidents in the first six races.

The Dutch driver has been put under severe pressure from Red Bull boss Christian Horner for his performances in 2018, with Horner feeling Verstappen should consider reevaluating his approach to racing following his run of incidents.

Verstappen’s father Jos and his management team were noticeably absent in Canada as he sealed a podium finish at the event, but the Red Bull driver refused to believe it was they key to his improved performance.

“I was [focused] before as well,” Verstappen said when asked by reporters about Horner’s suggestions his smaller entourage positively effected his performance.

“There were less people around, I could speak to less people. Of course, maybe I have a few minutes extra to talk to my engineers instead of others, but it doesn’t make a difference to me.

“They were here also when I was winning races, so I don’t think there is something behind it. It was just a weekend alone. I mean I am 20 years old, they don’t need to hold my hand.”

The 20-year-old was bombarded with questions surrounding his run of crashes in the Canadian drivers’ press conference, and Verstappen joked the added pressure proved influential in his drive to third position.

“It seems like every time they add pressure to you, it is always working for me. Maybe they should do that all the time!,” he said. “It was a good weekend and I enjoyed it a lot in Canada so I will try to do the same this weekend.”