Mateschitz died on Saturday on the age of 78 after a protracted sickness, having amassed a fortune estimated by Forbes at $27.4 billion (about R514 billion), making him Austria’s richest particular person.
Red Bull Racing’s Dutch driver Max Verstappen reacts after the third and remaining qualifying session for the Formula One British Grand Prix on the Silverstone motor racing circuit in Silverstone, central England on 2 July 2022. Picture: JUSTIN TALLIS/AFP
VIENNA, AUSTRIA – Formula One world champion Max Verstappen led the tributes on Sunday to Red Bull founder Dietrich Mateschitz, who turned the vitality drink right into a worldwide success and pumped cash right into a title-winning F1 staff and several other soccer golf equipment.
Mateschitz died on Saturday on the age of 78 after a protracted sickness, having amassed a fortune estimated by Forbes at $27.4 billion (about R514 billion), making him Austria’s richest particular person.
He took a candy drink that was already well-liked in Asia for its obvious energy-giving properties and tailored it to Western tastes.
Mateschitz was a savvy advertising and marketing man who popularised the Red Bull model by associating it with sport, investing closely in Formula One, soccer and excessive pursuits.
Red Bull now employs 13,000 individuals in 172 international locations with an annual turnover of round eight billion euros. It sells practically 10 billion cans of the drink a yr.
Verstappen, who two weeks in the past gained his second consecutive world drivers’ title on the wheel of a Red Bull automotive, mentioned he was decided to ship a powerful efficiency in Sunday’s United States Grand Prix as a tribute to Mateschitz.
“It’s been hard news for everyone, for Red Bull and for the sport and for me in general, in my career and in my life,” the Dutchman mentioned.
“It is a very tough day. We missed out in qualifying by a little bit, but there is a race tomorrow and we’ll try to do it for him… we are going to make him proud.”
Austrian President Alexander Van der Bellen mentioned Mateschitz had led a “simply breathtaking life”.
“Dietrich Mateschitz built up a world-famous and successful company, and we have lost a great supporter of top-class sport and extreme sports,” the president tweeted.
SUCCESS IN FOOTBALL AND F1
Apart from its substantial funding within the F1 staff, Red Bull purchased the soccer membership of the Austrian metropolis of Salzburg in 2005, then in 2009 acquired Leipzig when the German staff have been languishing within the fifth division.
German legislation bans using an organization title in a membership’s identify, so the Leipzig board of administrators known as their membership RasenBallsport Leipzig — actually “lawn ball sport” Leipzig — whose initials “RB” mirror these of Red Bull.
From 2016, the membership have been promoted to the Bundesliga high flight and one season later certified for the Champions League after ending second within the desk.
The Austrian firm additionally captured the New York MetroStars franchise within the United States in 2006, turning them into the New York Red Bulls.
Red Bull has additionally branched out into excessive sports activities, sponsoring occasions equivalent to air acrobatics and cliff diving.
When Austrian daredevil Felix Baumgartner jumped to earth from a helium balloon in 2012, his swimsuit was plastered with the Red Bull emblem.
But it’s in Formula One that the corporate has actually made its mark on the planet of sport.
The head of the Red Bull F1 staff, Christian Horner, mentioned “thankfully” Mateschitz lived to see Verstappen clinch his second title by successful the Japanese Grand Prix earlier this month.
Horner mentioned Mateschitz was “a great man, one of few of a kind” who had “proved you can make a difference. He was a passionate supporter and the backbone of all we do.”
Ferrari driver Carlos Sainz secured pole place for the Grand Prix in Austin, Texas, however his ideas have been together with his former staff.
“I can’t be too happy after the loss of Dietrich Mateschitz. My condolences to his family, friends and the entire Red Bull family,” Sainz mentioned on Twitter.
Red Bull are presently dealing with accusations from rival groups that they’ve cheated by breaching Formula One’s price cap laws.
The Red Bull drink was born throughout one among Mateschitz’s many enterprise journeys as advertising and marketing director of a German cosmetics firm when he was served a candy beverage frequent in Asia in a luxurious bar in Hong Kong.
He was instantly keen on it and was impressed by the drink’s obvious skill to assist him overcome his jet lag.
He determined to companion with the drink’s developer Thai businessman Chaleo Yoovidhya and the 2 males based Red Bull in 1984.
