Red Bull boss Dietrich Mateschitz has died at the age of 78

It was announced on Saturday ahead of qualifying for the United States Grand Prix that Red Bull founder Dietrich Mateschitz had died at the age of 78. Christian Horner led a meeting with the Red Bull team in the Austin paddock to announce the death.

Mateschitz had reportedly been seriously ill for some time. However, no facts came out, as the Red Bull boss was known to avoid publicity. The team has since confirmed this news. The statement reported that Mateschitz had lost his battle against a long, serious illness. Mateschitz turned Red Bull into a global brand and connected the brand to motorsport long ago.

In 2004, he fulfilled his dream and bought his own Formula 1 team, the then Jaguar Racing, before renaming it Red Bull Racing. Not much later, he did the same with the Minardi team, which he and his good friend and former F1 driver Gerhard Berger bought from Paul Stoddart and then renamed Scuderia Toro Rosso.

The rest is history: Red Bull Racing achieved huge successes in F1, initially with Sebastian Vettel. The German became world champion four times in a row with the team. In 2021 and 2022, it was that time again: Max Verstappen became world champion twice in a row with Red Bull and the team is well on its way to winning the constructors' title as well.