In the world of Formula 1, Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is often at loggerheads with Red Bull boss Christian Horner; however, many years ago, the Austrian was actually a driver for the energy drink company.
Wolff raced in Red Bull colours whilst competing in the FIA GT Championship, with him having won the 2004 1000 Miles of Interlagos and the 2006 24 Hours of Dubai.
His win at the host of the Brazilian Grand Prix is perhaps his most iconic, as he mastered what were challenging conditions and completely outshone his more experienced teammate, Karl Wendlinger.
Wolff reflected on his time as a Red Bull driver last year, following the death of the company’s co-founder, Dietrich Mateschitz.
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The Austrian insisted that he was “very proud” to wear the Red Bull colours, as it’s “very prestigious”.
“I was proud to wear those colours as a GT driver. To be a Red Bull driver was very prestigious and I was very proud to wear those team colours,” Wolff said last year following Mateschitz’s death, as per The Express.
Being Austrian, Wolff has been surrounded by Red Bull virtually his entire life, with him having come across the energy drink in several clubs in Munich.
He recalls how Red Bull was initially rejected from several clubs, before it became a “hit” after it was mixed with vodka.
It’s remained as one of the most popular drinks in clubs across the world ever since.
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Wolff admits that mixing Red Bull with vodka was “like taking drugs”, resulting in the energy drink booming in its very own market.
“As an Austrian, you know the history of Red Bull pretty well,” said Wolff. “When Dietrich started selling Red Bull, some clubs just rejected him: ‘What is an energy drink?’ they wondered.
“Then it was mixed with vodka and suddenly it was a hit. 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 and vodka-Red Bull was like taking drugs. That created such a myth around Red Bull and so it created a market that didn’t exist yet.”