Helmut Marko Reflects on Max Verstappen’s Last Meet with Red Bull Founder Dietrich Mateschitz

Red Bull founder Dietrich Mateschitz’s death in October 2022 caused a huge tremor to the company’s F1 operation. Mateschitz was the key figure who kickstarted Red Bull Racing and his passion for motorsport inspired the team to become a dominant top side in F1. Max Verstappen, who has been the epicenter of their dominance, also felt very moved to hear about Mateschitz’s passing.

Helmut Marko reflected on Verstappen’s bond with the Red Bull founder while recalling their last meeting. The Austrian stated how the two last met after the 2022 Italian GP, just a month before Mateschitz’s death. Per F1 Maximaal, Marko told Motorsport-Magazin, “That was with Max after Monza. We were visiting Salzburg.”

We are saddened to hear of the death of Dietrich Mateschitz

The co-founder of Red Bull made an unforgettable contribution to F1, and leaves a lasting legacy pic.twitter.com/ZuBxwY5CzS

— Formula 1 (@F1) October 22, 2022

They spent time at Mateschitz’s estate at the Attersee lake. The Red Bull advisor added, “We spent several hours there. It was a very good conversation. It was actually the first time that Mateschitz and Verstappen had been together for a longer period of time.”

Marko highlighted how Verstappen and Mateschitz discussed soccer — a subject he is not very passionate and knowledgeable about. Nevertheless, he stated that 2022 was a season where the mood in the team was rather good as they had cruised to both world championships.

Even though there was a lot of discussion about their budget cap breach, Marko mentioned how Mateschitz wasn’t concerned much about it. He stated that the Red Bull founder was actually in “very good physical condition”. So, when they heard about his death, it was naturally a shock to everyone at Red Bull Racing.

How Mateschitz’s demise affected Red Bull emotionally

Mateschitz was suffering from pancreatic cancer for a long time and died during the 2022 US GP weekend. At the previous race weekend in Japan, Verstappen had just wrapped up the drivers’ championship and Red Bull were looking set to win the constructors’ at the Circuit of the Americas.

So, this news of the Red Bull founder passing away certainly made the environment in the team’s garage somber. Still, the Austrian outfit powered through the sentiments to focus on the weekend as Verstappen won in a dominant fashion at COTA.

He dedicated the win to Mateschitz as the entire Red Bull team celebrated and paid tribute to their founder who had been a lifelong F1 fan. As his death destabilized the span of control at Red Bull, his loss is still felt by many.