Red Bull drivers Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez used their post-qualifying interviews in parc ferme to pay tribute to the team's co-owner and founder Dietrich Mateschitz, who has died aged 78.
The news was announced shortly before the start of the session which determines the order of the grid for tomorrow's United States Grand Prix. For once, the action on the track didn't quite seem as important to the drivers as usual.
"Of course for us it was I think a tough start to qualifying," Verstappen admitted. "You don’t really care about the result as well, it doesn’t matter.
"It's really tough. It's a very tough day," he added. "We tried of course and we gave it everything today in qualifying, but unfortunately we missed out by a little bit.
"We’re more about what happened today and also what he has meant to everyone within the team - the whole team, what he has built up, the company itself, Red Bull and personally to me. What he has done for me in general, my career so far and generally my life."
Verstappen was spotted very early in his career by Red Bull's junior driver programme headed up by Dr Helmut Marko, who helped shape and guide the young Dutch driver from his F1 debut with Toro Rosso in 2015 to winning the world championship in 2021 with the senior Red Bull squad.
"Without him, I wouldn’t be sitting here today and I wouldn’t have had the success I’ve had," said Verstappen of the impact of Mateschitz's support on him over the years.
“To believe in me from such a young age and also see that relationship grow year after year was very special," he said. "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 lamented. 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 it was at the time already very special, but it’s definitely even more special now," he concluded, saying that Mateschitz was "always super kind and caring" and firmly committed to F1 ever since buying the Jaguar team in 2004 to found Red Bull Racing.
"He was a big race fan, but I think the commitment he has shown to Formula 1 and basically to have two Formula 1 teams is incredible and also the amount of young talent he has supported throughout all these years."
Compared to Verstappen's long association with Mateschitz and Red Bull, Sergio Perez is a newcomer having only moved to the squad at the start of 2021 after previous stints with Sauber, McLaren, Force India and Racing Point.
It was unusual for Red Bull to look outside its own development programme,but Perez had proved a good fit with the team and with Verstappen.
"Unfortunately I didn’t get to spend much time with him," Perez said when asked how he had got along with Mateschitz himself.
"I met him or twice and he was a great human being: super happy, really excited," he continued. "What he created - the brand that he has created, and not only that his passion for the sport - I think he has really made a massive difference to the world."
Mateschitz's death comes on the eve of what could be Red Bull's first F1 constructors championship in nine years.
If Verstappen and Perez between them can help Red Bull achieve a 147 point lead over Ferrari in the standings after tomorrow's race, they will be crowned this year's team title.
“I really hope that tomorrow we can do everything to be crowned champions because it will be a nice day to do that," Perez acknowledged.
"We couldn’t find the maximum today with just three sets of tyres but it was a weekend where we knew we had the penalty so we have put the focus on tomorrow and the race, hopefully that pays off.
"It will be tricky to get up there on this track but we will be trying our best because it would really mean a lot this weekend.”
"There's still a race ahead of course, and yeah, we're going to try to make him proud tomorrow," Verstappen agreed. "I think our car normally in the race is a bit stronger than qualifying.
"Already today in qualifying it was very fine margins. If you could switch your tyres on a bit better, I think that would have made a difference. But nonetheless, you know, we are there and I'm expecting a good race tomorrow."
He will start tomorrow's race from second place on the grid behind Ferrari's Carlos Sainz, while a grid penalty for an additional power unit element has dropped Sergio Perez down to eighth.
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