Red Bull F1 pay emotional tribute to late founder

Red Bull

Red Bull pay emotional tribute to late founder

Sheona Mountford F1 Journalist

Motorsport journalist working in F1 since 2024.

Friday 16 January 2026 22:45

Red Bull's first foray into F1 power unit production has seen them pay tribute to their late-founder Dietrich Mateschitz.

The Milton Keynes-based outfit unveiled their 2026 car at Ford's headquarters in Detroit on Thursday night, wowing fans with a glossy blue and brighter look for Red Bull.

Alongside a first look at the car design, Red Bull also revealed the name of their engine, the first to be produced in house by Red Bull Powertrains.

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The DM01 pays homage to Red Bull founder Mateschitz, who passed away in 2022 at the age of 78.

Who is Red Bull founder Dietrich Mateschitz?

Mateschitz was an Austrian entrepreneur and co-founder of Red Bull GmbH, and while in Hong Kong in 1982 started the journey of the energy drink giants.

It was here he discovered a concoction marketed by two brothers, the Yoovidhyas, said to give the drinker an energy boost and called Krating Daeng.

Agreeing a partnership with Chaleo Yoovidhya to market the drink worldwide, Krating Daeng was translated into Red Bull in Europe giving birth to the brand as we know it today.

Mateschitz's interest in motorsport, and penchant for affiliating the brand with extreme sports, led to him sponsoring racing drivers such as Gerhard Berger and Karl Wendlinger, stepping up to support the latter's Mercedes-Sauber team.

The Austrian would truly make his name in F1, however, when he purchased Jaguar from Ford in 2004, and thus Red Bull was born. He also bought Minardi in 2005, to create junior team Toro Rosso, which has since been rebranded Alpha Tauri and now Racing Bulls.

Over 20 years later, Red Bull has won six constructors' titles and eight drivers' championships, thanks to the likes of Sebastian Vettel and Max Verstappen; but the figures Mateschitz initially installed at the team have now disappeared with Christian Horner, Adrian Newey and Helmut Marko no longer part of Red Bull.

Now, safely returned to Ford's welcoming embrace, Red Bull embark on their most challenging era yet, tackling new regulations, power unit production and a transformed team led by Mekies. It feels fitting, however, that their first step into the future has paid homage to the man that made it all possible in the first place.

F1 Red Bull Dietrich Mateschitz