Toto Wolff paid tribute to the late Dietrich Mateschiz, revealing he wore Red Bull colours proudly when he was a GT driver sponsored by the energy drinks company.
The Austrian billionaire passed away after a serious illness, the news broken to the Formula 1 paddock and the world on Saturday of the 2022 United States Grand Prix.
After the race on Sunday, as Red Bull honoured their late founder by winning the 2022 F1 Constructors’ Title, Toto Wolff faced the media and was asked about his memories about Mateschitz when he sponsored the Mercedes boss’ earlier racing career.
Wolff began: “It was on a car that was sponsored by Red Bull but I was proud to wear those colours as a junior driver, GT driver back in the day, and being a Red Bull driver was something prestigious and I was proud to wear the overalls and the team kit.
Mateschitz created a market that did not exist
“But actually as an Austrian you pretty much know the history of Red Bull and him and his troupe,” Wolff went on. “When they started selling the drink, some of the clubs just turned them down and they asked ‘what are you selling us, an energy drink what is that?’
“Then he was told you mix it with Vodka and it was suddenly a hit, like a drug, and it was sold under the table. Then it got into the good clubs in Munich and the same thing, vodka Red Bull was almost like taking drugs. That created such a myth around Red Bull and whoever thought that this can create a market that didn’t exist.
“Energy drinks didn’t exist and from then on it got stronger and stronger, and I also remember the price policy,” the Austrian added. “He would never budge when the big supermarket chains would say we can make it cheaper and they would delist him, and he said delist him and then they took him back.
The guy was just bigger than life
“Then always the large chunks of profits from that was invested in sport, the guy was just bigger than life,” Wolff said of Mateschitz. “What he has done in Austria for football, for ice hockey, for Leipzig, the racing programme, it is incredible.
“Probably the biggest contribution in Formula 1 of any single individual. I was lucky enough, I was invited sometimes into the famous Hangar 7 and it was quite impressive. The man was super reflective and what started like a Mercedes Red Bull discussion, it was always the two of us, and it took hours and then it ended up in a very personal discussion around families and everything and I enjoyed that,” the 50-year-old revealed.
Asked what he believed was Mateschitx greatest achievement, Wolf pointed out: “I think the biggest achievement is the brand. 1990s it appeared so we are talking 32 years and I don’t know how many billions of euros the company makes but creating a new market, inventing a product that only existed in Thailand in a different packaging and making it a global player is far superior and overshadowing everything that is around sports.
“But in our microcosm, I remember he once said to me he’d rather do a sports project that loses money as long as he enjoys doing it. There are not many entrepreneurs that say that, for the love of the sport,” Wolff concluded.
(Additional reporting by Agnes Carlier)