Mateschitz "shock" still reverberating - Tost

AlphaTauri team principal Franz Tost has hailed Dietrich Mateschitz "a visionary" whose death is still causing "shock".

Mateschitz was the multi-billionaire benefactor, founder and inspiration behind the formation of Red Bull and Toro Rosso before the latter rebranded itself to become AlphaTauri.

Tost has been in charge of the team since his appointment at the start of 2006, working for Mateschitz for almost 17 years prior to his fellow Austrian's death on the eve of the recent United States Grand Prix.

Tost has helped school many a driver, including champions Sebastian Vettel and Max Verstappen, while others such as Daniel Ricciardo have gone on to claim race wins.

Reflecting on Mateschitz's life and legacy, Tost said: "Dietrich was an outstanding person, and with his passion and determination he built up the Red Bull empire.

"It was a great honour for me to work together with him for so many years, and I'm thankful for this, what he did for the team, and especially for me, personally.

"You know, Mateschitz was a visionary. I remember when he said to me, Franz, you have to educate the young drivers from the Red Bull driver pool and they have to win races. Later, looking back, everything that he said worked.

"He was a visionary, but his visions were transformed into successful operations and this is the difference to other people.

"For me, Dietrich Mateschitz was a person who lives only once in the world. There will not be a second one, because he was extraordinary and very, very special.

"I don't remember any meeting with him where he didn't have a solution to many, many questions, and when you left the office, you knew exactly what you had to do.

"And therefore, the shock is still there, and we will miss him."

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