Red Bull founder Dietrich Mateschitz has died at the age of 78.
This was initially reported by the motorsports magazine “Speedweek”, a publication of the Red Bull Group, late on Saturday evening.
The Austrian had succumbed to “a long, serious illness”. As part of the Formula 1 Grand Prix in the USA, Red Bull’s motorsport director Helmut Marko also confirmed the death of his long-time companion.
“We knew that he was in a difficult state of health,” said Marko on “Sky”: “Now that it has happened, it is still incredible that such a great personality had to resign.” Mateschitz was “unique”, “but he was a modest person”. Recently there had already been reports that Mateschitz had cancer.
The billionaire from Austria had invested a large part of his fortune in sport, especially in Formula 1 and several football teams such as DFB Cup winners RB Leipzig and Red Bull Salzburg.