Red Bull sealed the 2022 Formula One Constructor’s Championship at the US Grand Prix on an emotional weekend for the team.
News broke just before qualifying that the founder of the Red Bull brand, and the man responsible for bringing the team into Formula One, Dietrich Mateschitz, had sadly passed away. Despite not officially being involved in the day-to-day running of the Red Bull F1 team, Mateschitz was extremely popular and was a regular at Formula One races. He was a well-known figure to everyone within Formula One.
Photo courtesy of the NY Times
Mateschitz’s dream and vision brought Red Bull into Formula One at the start of the 21st century, initially as the title sponsor for the Sauber team and then by buying the Jaguar team and creating Red Bull Racing. He would then also go on to create the Torro Rosso, now Alpha Tauri, a Red Bull partner team.
As a motorsport fanatic, Mateschitz entered Formula One with a dream to upset the established teams and brands like Ferrari, Mercedes, and McLaren and to take his team to the top of the sport. So what better tribute to the team’s founder than the dominant 2022 season? So far this season, with three rounds remaining, Red Bull have won 15 out of the 19 races, with Max Verstappen winning 13 of those. It is likely to be a record-breaking season for both the team and Max in terms of the number of victories.
There have been some stunning races and performances from the Red Bull team this season, including dominant victories from the front and brilliant fight-back victories after starting low down on the grid, like from 10th in Hungary and from 14th in Belgium. There were also victories at the iconic Monaco and Singapore Grand Prix for Sergio Perez. All of which would undoubtedly brought a big smile to the face of Mateschitz.
Courtesy Spectrum News
With Verstappen having already sealed his second Driver’s World Title in Japan, Red Bull hoped to secure their fifth Constructor’s Title in Austin and end Mercedes’ eight-year Constructor title successes. And, on the weekend of his death, there was no better tribute to Mateschitz than Verstappen’s victory at the US Grand Prix and the sealing of the Constructor’s Title.
Dietrich Mateschitz did not only found the Red Bull Racing teams, but he also funded the Red Bull Driver Academy, which has produced many F1 Drivers over the years. No less than eight of the current twenty drivers on the grid have been featured on a Red Bull team or have been part of the Red Bull Academy during their careers. That includes recent Red Bull star, two-time World Champion Max Verstappen, and four-time World Champion Sebastian Vettel.
Hopefully, the Red Bull Driver Academy will continue to produce Formula One stars of the future. That would be a fitting tribute to Mateschitz. Indeed, it was his dream.
