Christian Horner leads the tributes to Red Bull co-owner, Dietrich Mateschitz who has died aged 78.
A graduate of what was to become the Vienna University of Economics and Business, Mateschitz used his degree in marketing to get a job with consumer giant Unilever. He subsequently joined German company Blendax, which German manufactured personal hygiene products including toothpaste.
It was on his travels for Blendax, which has since been bought by Procter & Gamble, that he came across Krating Daeng, a sweetened, non-carbonated energy drink developed by Thai businessman Chaleo Yoovidhya.
The rest is history.
Founding Red Bull GmbH in 1984 with Yoovidhya, the brand was launched onto an unsuspecting world, firstly in Austria in 1987.
Making full use of his expertise in marketing, Mateschitz turned Red Bull into a global phenomenon, making full use of sport to spread the message.
His first experience of F1 was when he bought into Sauber, subsequently withdrawing from the Swiss outfit when it opted to sign Kimi Raikkonen as opposed to (Red Bull protege) Enrique Bernoldi.
In late 2004, Red Bull bought the Jaguar F1 team, and though opinion was initially divided, many feeling the ever present Formulas Unas suggested the team wasn't taking the sport entirely seriously, attitudes changed when the Unas were dropped and leading talents like Adrian Newey were recruited,
In late 2005, Mateschitz, in partnership with former racer and countryman Gerhard Berger, bought Minardi and renamed it Toro Rosso, giving Red Bull two teams on the F1 grid.
Meanwhile, as the Red Bull brand became an ever present in various sports, especially those of the extreme nature, its Junior Team was developing young talent, several of whom would go on to become champions in various disciplines of motorsport including F1.
In 2004, Mateschitz had bought the former A1-Ring, formerly the Osterreichring, and renaming it the Red Bull Ring, carried out major renovations that were to lead to the picturesque circuit returning to the schedule as host of the Austrian Grand Prix. Mateschitz also used the circuit to build a hangar to accommodate his vast collection of aircraft.
Along the way he also bought the Austrian football club SV Austria Salzburg and the American club MetroStars, subsequently renamed as Red Bull Salzburg and New York Red Bulls, respectively. As well as Red Bull Brasil, he initiated German football club RB Leipzig. He was also the owner of the German ice hockey club EHC Munchen, which was to become Red Bull Munchen.
Despite his penchant for publicity in terms of the Red Bull brand, Mateschitz was a fiercely private man, who had never married.
However, it is Formula One which surely owes him the biggest debt, for the two teams he supported at a time the sport was not enjoying anything like the following it is attracting today, for the wealth of talent he has helped nurture and for his overall commitment to the sport.
"It's very, very sad," said Christian Horner. "What a great man, he's few of a kind.
"What he achieved and what he's done for so many people around the world, across different sports, is second to none," he added. "So many of us have to be so grateful to him for the opportunities he's provided and the vision he had, the strength of character he had, and never being afraid to follow dreams, and chase dreams. That's what he did here in F1, proving that you can make a difference.
"We're just incredibly grateful for him, everything that he's done, everything that he's supported us with over the years. So many drivers, so many team members, so many people in this pit lane owe him so much."
"Without him, I wouldn't be sitting here today and I wouldn't have had the success I've had," said Max Verstappen. "To believe in me from such a young age and also see that relationship grow year after year was very special," he said. "It's incredibly tough for everyone in the team.
"Luckily I got to see him a couple of weeks back so we could spend a little bit of time together, but it's still a tough day," he lamented. I will forever remember the final visit I had with him, what we talked about, and just the time we spent during that day.
"For me it was at the time already very special, but it's definitely even more special now," he concluded, saying that Mateschitz was "always super kind and caring" and firmly committed to F1 ever since buying the Jaguar team in 2004 to found Red Bull Racing.
"I knew Dietrich quite a lot," added Carlos Sainz, a fellow protege of the Red Bull programme, and I've been also helped by his support in the past.
"I wouldn't have reached Formula 1 without him," he added. "The amount of things he's done for motorsport, not only Formula 1 and young drivers, but if you think about how many Red Bull logos are out there in all the categories, from MotoGP to F1, to all the sports that you can think about – how he has supported young talent, how many people have been supported by him, and his vision and his idea, is crazy.
"I think he's a super important guy, a super nice guy, and a guy I always enjoyed being around. From here, I want to send my condolences. Rest in peace."
""It's obviously extremely sad to hear that Dietrich passed away, and especially this weekend," said Pierre Gasly. "I sent a message to his family before the qualifying. It's a sad thing.
"What he has done, what he has achieved with Red Bull, what he has provided to all of us as part of the Red Bull family, will be remembered forever."
"As a Red Bull family, definitely it's really sad and really a shame," said Yuki Tsunoda. "It was bad news to hear, especially before qualifying.
"We met a couple of times face to face and also had a call as well. He's a really nice guy, and played a big part in Red Bull, I mean most of it, like 90... 99%.
"The achievements he had, and also without him, Red Bull Racing and also AlphaTauri, we couldn't be able to progress like this. Rest in peace and we'll push hard for him tomorrow."
"I only got told just after the session, it's a shock," admitted Alex Albon. "It's amazing what he has done in the sport, not just in Formula 1, what you see, but the amount of drivers that have had the opportunity to come through, who have been funded by Red Bull, myself included.
"I was 12 years old when I was being sponsored by Red Bull. It's a great shame. He had a huge heart and passion for sport, for everything in general. He will be greatly missed."
"I got the news just before qualifying as well," said Daniel Ricciardo. "Obviously it hasn't been the most pleasant last hour and I just wanted to pass on my condolences to his family and all the Red Bull family.
"He played an integral part in my career and was very instrumental in just getting me where I am today, ultimately. Even since 2018 we kept in touch. As you know, he wasn't always... he didn't like the limelight and kept back, but if I heard he was at the circuit, I would try and go and see him.
"What he built is phenomenal, so there is a lot of good things and a lot of happy memories that many of us athletes can share, who were part of the Red Bull family at a point in time. It's very sad news, but what a man."
A great loss to motorsport, indeed sport, and Pitpass, on behalf of its readers offers its sincere condolences to his family, friends and associates.
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