The successful 'secret' Red Bull life of Toto Wolff

You can't deny Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff has a lack of passion.He shows it every time as Mercedes team boss, but certainly also inthe past as a driver, with Wolff an established racer in his ownright. He participated in rallies, a great passion, but he alsostood his ground on the asphalt racetrack. He once broke the laprecord on the famous Nordschleife, but in an attempt to go fasteragain afterwards he crashed heavily, with the impact leaving himwith nerve damage meaning he couldn't smell or taste for months.That was in a Porsche, but years before that he was active in theFIA GT championship. There he drove very creditably with Porsches,Ferraris and BMWs, among others. In 2006, he won the very firstedition of the 24 Hours of Dubai in, yes.... Red Bull colours! InRed Bull blue, he caused a stir on more than one occasion andparticularly excelled in tricky conditions. At the soaking wet 1000miles of Interlagos in 2004 he was the team's fastest man, eventhough well-known GT pedellar Karl Wendlinger was on the team. WhenRed Bull co-founder Dietrich Mateschitz passed away last year,Wolff looked back on his time as a "Red Bull driver. "I was proudto wear those colours as a GT driver," he reflected. "To be a RedBull driver was very prestigious and I was very proud to wear thoseteam colours," the Austrian spoke with a big smile. Red Bull andToto Wolff Not only on, but also off the track, Wolff had aconnection with Red Bull. "As an Austrian, you know the history ofRed Bull pretty well," he continues. "When Dietrich started sellingRed Bull, some clubs just rejected him: 'What is an energy drink?'they wondered. "Then it was mixed with vodka and suddenly it was ahit. It was like a drug and it was secretly sold 'under the table.'"In Munich, it did end up being sold in the good clubs andVodka-Red Bull was like taking drugs. That created such a mytharound Red Bull and so it created a market that didn't exist yet."Wolff, also a successful businessman himself, watched Mateschitzwalk his own path and not let himself be known. " From then on, thebrand became stronger and stronger. I also remember well that henever wanted to offer his product cheaper. He didn't budge. If thesupermarkets excluded him, he would say: 'Fine, go ahead,' andeventually they would quickly knock back on his door." Mateschitzlarger than life His love of sports became evident over the years.In Formula 1, Mateschitz was an influential man, owning two teamsand launching the careers of World Champions Sebastian Vettel andMax Verstappen, with eight drivers in 2023 having come through theRed Bull junior programme. It's not just in motorsport however,with Red Bull also present in other sports like football, icehockey and air sports. "Dietrich was just larger than life. Alsowhat he stood for, for soccer, ice hockey, Leipzig, the racingprogram," says Wolff. "Unbelievable. He probably contributed moreto Formula 1 than any individual. He was an impressive man.Sometimes we could discuss serious matters for hours, but then wewould end up talking about our families. I enjoyed that. "Hisgreatest achievement is the Red Bull brand. "I remember him tellingme once that he was only too happy to take on a sports project thatwas making a loss if only he could get pleasure out of it. "Thereare not many entrepreneurs who say things like that out of love forthe sport."