Red Bull founder and F1 team owner Dietrich Mateschitz dies aged 78
Red Bull co-founder and owner of the brand's Formula 1 team Dietrich Mateschitz has died aged 78, following a lengthy illness.
The Austrian businessman, who founded the energy drink company in 1984, was instrumental in the brand’s involvement in F1.
Mateschitz owned 49 per cent of the energy drink brand and was the driving force behind its move into racing, which began in the mid-1990s.
He is survived by long-term partner Marion Feichtner and son Mark Gerhardter.
Mateschitz graduated from the Vienna University of Economics and Business with a marketing degree in 1972.
He worked for Unilever before moving to Blendax, a German cosmetics company owned by Procter & Gamble.
While travelling for work, he discovered Krating Daeng, the drink developed by Chaleo Yoovidhya which became Red Bull.
Red Bull first entered F1 in 1995 in partnership with Sauber, growing its stake to 60 per cent before the collaboration ended at the end of 2001.
In November 2004, he purchased the Jaguar Racing team from former owners Ford and created Red Bull Racing.
That year, Mateschitz also bought Austria’s A1-Ring, completing extensive renovation works and renaming it the Red Bull Ring before it reopened in May 2011.
A year later, he and Gerhard Berger teamed up to buy the Minardi team from Paul Stoddart, renaming it Scuderia Toro Rosso.
Red Bull won its first championships in 2010 with Sebastian Vettel, taking both titles in that year and the following three seasons.
Outside of racing, Mateschitz bought the football clubs SV Austria Salzburg and MetroStars, renaming them to Red Bull Salzburg and New York Red Bulls.
He founded RB Leipzig football team in 2009 and is also the owner of the German ice hockey club EHC Munchen, changing its name to Red Bull München.
Capito: American nationality not key to Sargeant’s F1 promotion
Dietrich Mateschitz obituary: Red Bull co-founder dies aged 78
Las Vegas approves plan to shut Strip for F1 race until 2032
Officials in Las Vegas have approved a plan to shut the Strip for the Formula 1 grand prix for the next 10 years as they eye a “lifetime in partnership.”
Porsche boss “as surprised as anyone” over Gulf-Williams F1 social media frenzy
Porsche’s head of motorsport Thomas Laudenbach found it “funny” that streamlining its Instagram channels caused a Formula 1 social media speculation frenzy last month.
Why Albon won't be "throwing around laptops" to gain a 2023 F1 edge
OPINION: At the Williams 2023 Formula 1 season launch, Alex Albon’s easy-going nature was again a point of focus. But does being “too nice” really matter in modern F1? Albon’s own expressions put that in an intriguing new light
Why Alfa Romeo has kept its blade roll hoop on 2023 F1 car
The Alfa Romeo Formula 1 team has retained its unique blade roll hoop for the C43 but designed it to withstand load tests that the FIA will introduce in 2024.
Why Albon won't be "throwing around laptops" to gain a 2023 F1 edge
OPINION: At the Williams 2023 Formula 1 season launch, Alex Albon’s easy-going nature was again a point of focus. But does being “too nice” really matter in modern F1? Albon’s own expressions put that in an intriguing new light
How the last Sauber-built Alfa offers F1 2023 evolution clues
Alfa Romeo has become the first Formula 1 team to reveal a new car for 2023, in addition to a fresh livery. This offered a first look at some of the understated changes produced by the revised regulations, along with points of convergence in the second year of the ground effect rules
The pioneering F1 car that preceded Lotus’s terminal decline
In the hands of Ayrton Senna the actively suspended 99T would be the last F1 race-winning Lotus but, as STUART CODLING reveals, it was a complicated machine that caused more problems than it solved
How Tyrrell became a racing Rubik’s cube as it faded out of F1
Formula 1’s transformation into a global sport meant the gradual extinction for a small team determined to stay true to its low-budget roots. But Tyrrell would eventually be reborn as a world-beating outfit again, explains MAURICE HAMILTON, albeit in different colours…
Assessing Hamilton's remarkable decade as a Mercedes F1 driver
Many doubted Lewis Hamilton’s move from McLaren to Mercedes for the 2013 Formula 1 season. But the journey he’s been on since has taken the Briton to new heights - and to a further six world championship titles
Why new look Haas is a litmus test for Formula 1’s new era
OPINION: With teams outside the top three having struggled in Formula 1 in recent seasons, the rules changes introduced in 2022 should have more of an impact this season. How well Haas does, as the poster child for the kind of team that F1 wanted to be able to challenge at the front, is crucial
The Mercedes F1 pressure changes under 10 years of Toto Wolff
OPINION: Although the central building blocks for Mercedes’ recent, long-lasting Formula 1 success were installed before he joined the team, Toto Wolff has been instrumental in ensuring it maximised its finally-realised potential after years of underachievement. The 10-year anniversary of Wolff joining Mercedes marks the perfect time to assess his work
The all-French F1 partnership that Ocon and Gasly hope to emulate
Alpine’s signing of Pierre Gasly alongside Esteban Ocon revives memories of a famous all-French line-up, albeit in the red of Ferrari, for BEN EDWARDS. Can the former AlphaTauri man's arrival help the French team on its path back to winning ways in a tribute act to the Prancing Horse's title-winning 1983?
Subscribe and access Autosport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.