Dietrich Mateschitz, the owner of the Red Bull Racing F1 team, passed away on Saturday, October 22, 2022 at the age of 78. Dietrich Mateschitz’s expertise in the business world is unquestionable, he has worked in various large companies such as Unilever, German cosmetics company, Blendax, which is owned by Procter & Gamble before founding Red Bull.
Red Bull itself is an energy drink inspired by Krating Daeng from Thailand. In 1987, after forming the Red Bull company with Krating Daeng creator Chaleo Yoovidhya, Mateschitz developed Red Bull into a global franchise and then developed it again into one of the world’s companies that became one of the backbones of F1.
In the mid-1990s, Mateschitz invested $500,000 (approximately IDR 7.7 billion) and owned a 49% stake. Impressively, the business was successful, making the forerunner of Red Bull involved in the racing world. The reason Mateschitz expanded his company into the realm of racing is because he wanted to promote his product more widely.
In1995, Red Bull was more serious in opening the opportunity to jump into land jet racing by acquiring 60% of Sauber’s shares. Heinz-Harald Frentzen’s first major achievement in that year was third in the Grand Prix.
After getting involved in F1 with Sauber in the 1990s and early 2000s, Mateschitz bought the Jaguar squad in late 2004 and changed its name to Red Bull for the 2005 season.
In 2006, Mateschitz bought the struggling Minardi squad and renamed it Scuderia Toro Rosso. This team is used as a crater for young drivers who will support Red Bull Racing.
In 2007 for half a season, Sebastian Vettel was promoted to Toro Rosso. His status rose to full racer the following year and managed to score his first win at Monza. The young German racer was then shifted to Red Bull Racing. Since then, he has stretched and even become a champion challenger. In his debut year, 2009, Vettel became runner-up. Red Bull also shot 5 places from 7th in the constructors’ standings thanks to 4 wins from Vettel and 2 from Mark Webber.
