Red Bull co-founder Dietrich Mateschitz dies

The co-founder of the energy drink Red Bull is not anymore. Aged 78, the Styrian businessman passed away after succumbing to a long illness. It is speedweek, Red Bull media which announced it.

Despite an extremely limited presence at the Grands Prix, Mateschitz was established in the world of Formula 1 since 1995, when he joined forces with Peter Sauber, before continuing the adventure with Arrows in 2001, finally leading to the takeover of the Jaguar teams in 2004 and Minardi in 2005, all under the operational management of his friend always, the faithful Dr Helmut Marko who already supervised the young drivers sector of the Red Bull Junior Team.

Behind their fun and cool image, Red Bull Racing and the Team Toro Rosso, renamed Scuderia AlphaTauri in 2020, have followed a precise and very ambitious roadmap. The first masterstroke was to convince the brilliant Adrian Newey to leave McLaren to bring his drawing board to Milton Keynes (UK).

Since the creation of its flagship team, Red Bull Racing has gleaned six drivers', four (soon five) manufacturers' world championship titles, and 81 victories, thanks in particular to the successes of Sebastian Vettel (-2010 2013) and Max Verstappen (2021 and 2022). Added to this are the 2 victories and 5 podiums gleaned by Toro Rosso/AlphaTauri.

In the world of motorsport, Mateschitz also contributed to the transformation of the Österreichring, the former Austrian Grand Prix circuit in Spielberg which he bought in 2004. He indeed allowed the circuit to modernize and to re-enter the F1 world championship calendar from 2014, under the name Red Bull Ring, with a huge statue of a bull within it. 

Dietrich Mateschitz with his friend Helmut Marko. © DPPI

An absolute marketing genius, the Austrian began his glorious story during a trip to Thailand in 1982. Then marketing manager for the Asia zone of the Blendax toothpaste brand, he discovered the bar of the Mandarin Hotel in Hong Kong, where he stayed, an energy drink helping taxi drivers and truckers fight against sleep. 

Seeking to combat the effects of jet lag himself, he tested it on his own body and found himself impressed by the results of the drink based on taurine, an amino acid discovered in the last century in the bile of the bull.

Without further ado, he joined forces with Chaleo Yovidya, then CEO of TC Pharmaceuticals, and owner of the famous “Krafting Daeng”, which means “red bull”. This is the beginning of the history of Red Bull, of which he was the 49% shareholder. 40 years later, Didi, as he was nicknamed by his friends, had become the co-owner of a huge multinational power, thanks in particular to this legendary slogan: "Red Bull gives you wings".

A skilled communicator, Mateschitz has always used extreme sports to promote his drinks. But where others are content to sponsor teams or events, Red Bull goes much further since the Austrian giant takes control of entire clubs (for example Red Bull Leipzig and Red Bull Salzburg in football) and organizes its own competitions.

Difficile de savoir, pour l’heure, quelle sera la conséquence du décès de l’homme d’affaires sur l’avenir de Red Bull Racing et d’AlphaTauri. Pour rappel, alors qu’une alliance et qu’un rachat à hauteur de 50% de l’écurie Red Bull Racing par Porsche était dans les tuyaux depuis le début de l’année, le deal a capoté sans que l’on sache vraiment pourquoi. Christian Horner et Helmut Marko ont semble-t-il fait de la résistance, arguant que tomber aux mains d’un constructeur dénaturerait l’ADN de l’écurie et que celle-ci devait garder le contrôle.

To his partner Marion Feichtner, to his son Marc, to the members of the Red Bull Racing and AlphaTauri teams, to his many friends in automobiles and sport in general, AUTOhebdo presents its most sincere condolences.

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