Emotional Helmut Marko Acknowledges Losing the ‘Optimistic’ Co-founder of Red Bull

Helmut Marko, the main adviser for Red Bull, recently expressed his “deep sorrow” in the wake of Dietrich Mateschitz’s passing.

The Austrian billionaire passed away in October 2022 at the age of 78. He was Helmut Marko’s close friend and regarded the team’s main advisor as one of his most reliable teammates.

When asked about Mateschitz in an interview with RTL, a clearly moved Helmut Marko acknowledged that his absence had made things difficult to handle.

Helmut Marko stated, “I miss him [Mateschitz] a lot. “This is our second costly defeat. The first was Niki Lauda, with whom I spent a lot of time working and becoming friends. It’s becoming increasingly challenging. You are forced to make judgments on your own and are no longer able to engage in level-headed discussion. He always saw a resolution to a situation’s issues.”

“He was never destructive, always forward-thinking, cheerful, and he offered all the people opportunities—not only here at Red Bull—and believed in initiatives and encouraged, exuded confidence—even at [our] final meeting,” Helmut Marko continued.

Since Mateschitz’s passing, Oliver Mintzlaff, a former CEO of Bundesliga team RB Leipzig, has assumed one of three new CEO positions at Red Bull. Helmut Marko acknowledged having a fruitful conversation with Mintzlaff throughout the winter. He stated:

“I had a lengthy talk with Oliver Mintzlaff, the new guy in charge of our Formula 1 project, [over the winter]. It was a very beneficial discussion. The following one will shortly come,”

The originator of Red Bull and Helmut Marko last met at Lake Wolfgang

The most recent meeting between Helmut Marko and Dietrich Mateschitz occurred in Lake Wolfgang in Austria, and it also included current Red Bull driver Max Verstappen, according to Marko.

After every F1 race, Marko called Dietrich to discuss how Red Bull performed. Now that Dietrich is no longer there, there is a noticeable void. Helmut Marko said:

ALSO READ: Fernando Alonso’s Desire to Last Longer Than Sebastian Vettel Pushes the Team Said Mike Krack

“Max Verstappen and I were in Lake Wolfgang at the time. The conference lasted a long time. After a race, there is a certain void that was first filled by these five minutes and this recap. You must consider how you can handle this circumstance or how to go through it.”

To celebrate Mateschitz, who launched the careers of many outstanding drivers, including Verstappen, Sebastian Vettel, Daniel Ricciardo, Carlos Sainz, Jean-Eric Vergne, and Pierre Gasly, the team will be aiming to win another championship this year.