Perez on Mateschitz: 'He gave me an opportunity no one else ever gave me'

"This is a sad day for the whole Red Bull family, it makes you realise there are much more important things in life. Dietrich’s influence on sport and the way he supported athletes globally truly made a difference to the world. He gave me an opportunity that no one else ever gave me and I will always be grateful to him," Perez began in Red Bull Racing's press release.

The Mexican has been part of the Red Bull family since 2021. It seemed for a while that Perez would not have a seat in Formula 1 after 2020, but Max Verstappen's team showed confidence in the driver and offered him a contract. Two years later, Perez is poised to win the constructors' title with Red Bull.

Perez will race for Mateschitz on Sunday

"It was a very sad moment when we heard the news because we know we are about to become champions and he won’t be here to see us do it," Perez continued.

The Red Bull driver qualified fourth on Saturday, but will start from P9 in the race due to his five-spot grid penalty. "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," said the Mexican.