Max Verstappen stated that the result of the United States GP qualifying did not matter after the news about Dietrich Mateschitz’s death broke out.
Ahead of the US GP qualifying, it was announced that Mateschitz, Red Bull’s co-founder and owner, passed away at the age of 78.
Mateschitz brought the Red Bull brand to F1 and owned two teams – Red Bull Racing and AlphaTauri. Furthermore, Red Bull Junior Team had been supporting a lot of young talents, including Verstappen.
The Dutchman finished Saturday’s qualifying 3rd and will start the race from P2 because of Charles Leclerc’s grid penalty. He admitted that the result was not important on that day.
“For us, it was a tough entry to qualifying. And then you don’t really care about the result as well, it doesn’t matter. Because it’s way more about what happened today [on Saturday] and also what he [Mateschitz] has meant to everyone within the team, the whole team what he has built up in Formula 1, the company itself Red Bull, and personally to me,” Verstappen said.
“Without them, I wouldn’t be sitting here today and I wouldn’t have had the success I’ve had. So it’s incredibly tough for everyone in the team.
“Luckily I got to see him a couple of weeks back, so we could spend a little bit of time together. But it’s still a tough day.”
He added: “For me, Dietrich was always super-kind and caring, and he didn’t like to be in the foreground. He always was there, but he didn’t want to be in front of the cameras.
“When you get to know him more personally, he’s super-nice. He was a big race fan, but I think the commitment he has shown to Formula 1 and basically have two Formula 1 teams is incredible.
“Also the amount of young talent he has supported throughout all these years. Especially from my side, to believe in me from such a young age and also really see that relationship grow, year after year, was very special.
“I will forever remember the final visit I had with him, what we talked about, and just the time we spent during that day for me was at the time already very, very special. But it’s definitely even more special now.”
