French F1 Drivers, Jean Alesi

JEAN ALESI

Jean Alesi (born Giovanni Alesi June 11, 1964) is a French racing driver of Italian origins. His Formula One career included spells at Tyrrell, Benetton, Sauber, Prost, Jordan and most notably Ferrari where he proved very popular among the tifosi.

Alesi was born to Sicilian parents in Avignon, Vaucluse.

Starting his career with a passion for rallying rather than racing, he graduated to single seaters through the French Renault 5 championship. In the late 1980s he was very much a coming man in motor racing, winning the 1987 French Formula 3 title before moving up to International Formula 3000 in 1988.

In 1989, his second season in International F3000, he won the championship. Both crowns were after duels with his rival �rik Comas. In 1989 Alesi tied on points for the F3000 title with Comas but won on the basis of better points finishes.

Alesi debuted in the 1989 French Grand Prix at Paul Ricard in a Tyrrell-Cosworth, finishing fourth. He drove most of the rest of the season for Tyrrell while continuing his successful Formula 3000 campaign, (occasionally giving the car up in favour of Johnny Herbert when Formula 3000 clashed), scoring points again at the Italian and Spanish Grands Prix.
1990 was his first full year in Grand Prix racing, with the underfunded Tyrrell team. At the first event, the United States Grand Prix at Phoenix, he was a sensation, leading for 25 laps in front of Ayrton Senna with a car considered as inferior, and also re-passing Senna after the Brazilian had first overtaken for the lead.

Second place in the Monaco Grand Prix followed the second place gained in Phoenix, and by mid-season, top teams were clamouring for his services in 1991. A very confused situation erupted, with Tyrrell, Williams, and Ferrari all claiming to have signed the driver within a very short period.

Jean Alesi took his only Grand Prix win at the 1995 Canadian Grand Prix in Montreal.
Ferrari were championship contenders at the time, and there he would be driving with fellow countryman Alain Prost, at that time the most successful driver in Formula One history. Alesi signed with Ferrari, making the choice that not only appeared to maximize his chances for winning the championship and for learning from an experienced and successful teammate, but that fulfilled his childhood dream of driving for the Italian team.



Ferrari, however, experienced a disastrous downturn in form in 1991, while the Williams team experienced a resurgence which would lead them to win five constructor's titles between 1992 and 1997. Alesi's choice of Ferrari over Williams seemed the most logical at the time, but turned out to be very unfortunate. One of the reasons for this failure was because Ferrari's famous V12 engine was no longer competitive against the smaller, lighter and more fuel efficient V10s of their competitors.

Having a dismal 1991 season, Prost left the team describing the car as a "truck" and took a sabbatical.
In five years at the Italian marque Alesi gained little, except the passionate devotion of the tifosi, who loved his aggressive style. That style, and his use of the number 27 on his car, led many to associate him with Gilles Villeneuve, a beloved and still-popular Ferrari driver from 1977-1982. Alesi and teammate Gerhard Berger won only one race each at Ferrari.
When Benetton's Michael Schumacher joined Ferrari in 1996, Alesi and teammate Gerhard Berger swapped places with him. Though Benetton was the defending constructors' champions, they were about to experience a lull in form like Ferrari in 1991. Schumacher went on to rejuvenate Ferrari, while Alesi and Berger spent two seasons at a declining Benetton riddled with bad luck and internal politics.
Alesi moved on, initially to Sauber and later Prost, the latter which was owned by his former Ferrari teammate Alain Prost. With Prost, Alesi was consistent, finishing every race, occasionally in points scoring positions, his best finish being at Canada. A fallout after the British Grand Prix, however saw Alesi walk out after the German Grand Prix, where he scored a point.
Alesi ended his open-wheel career in 2001 with Jordan, bookending his career nicely: Alesi had driven for Jordan in Formula 3000 when he won the championship in 1989.





Alesi was often regarded as flamboyant and emotional, but after his spectacular performance at Phoenix in 1990, his career was notable more for its longevity than for its results. In 2001, he became only the fifth driver to start 200 Grand Prix races, and he achieved thirty-two podiums, yet he only gained one victory. It could be suggested that Alesi's potential was unfulfilled since he spent his peak years during the uncompetitive period at Ferrari.
His sole win was an emotional triumph at the 1995 Canadian Grand Prix in Montreal on his 31st birthday. Although he had inherited the lead when Michael Schumacher pitted with electrical problems and Damon Hill's hydraulics failed, the victory was a popular one, particularly after several excellent but ultimately unrewarded drives the year before, notably in Italy.

Alesi's win at Montreal was voted the most popular race victory of the season by many, as it was the scarlet red number 27 Ferrari - once belonging to the famous Gilles Villeneuve at his much loved home Grand Prix. Memorably, Schumacher gave Alesi a lift back to the pits after Alesi's car ran out of fuel just before the Pits Hairpin.



Alesi would never win another Formula One Grand Prix, although later in 1995 at Monza his right-rear wheel bearing failed while he was leading with 9 laps to go, then at the N�rburgring severely worn tyres broke his defence of the lead with two laps remaining. In 1996 only a suspension failure prevented him from taking victory at Monaco, while in 1997 he led the Italian Grand Prix from pole before relinquishing the lead to David Coulthard courtesy of a slow pit stop in the closing stages of the race.
In 2001, after coming in fifth at Canada, Prost's best result of what would be his final season in F1, Alesi did a few donuts and threw his helmet into the crowd.

After Formula One, Alesi was a popular and successful driver in the DTM (German Touring Car Championship), where he placed fifth in the 2002 championship for Mercedes with one victory. He repeated this in 2003 but this time scoring two victories. In 2004 he finished seventh in the championship scoring no victories. In 2005 he won the opening race and went on to take seventh place in the standings once more. He retired from the DTM after finishing the 2006 season in 9th place.
After a couple of years out of racing, Alesi joined a number of other ex-Formula One drivers (Christian Danner, Johnny Herbert, Stefan Johansson, Ukyo Katayama, JJ Lehto, Gianni Morbidelli, Jacques Villeneuve and Alex Yoong) in the inaugural season of the Far & Middle Eastern Speedcar Series. He won two races and finished 4th in the championship.

Alesi is a wine connoisseur and has a vineyard near his hometown of Avignon, where he resides with his wife, Japanese model, actress, and pop singer Kumiko Goto and their four children.
Occasionally, he appears on the programs dedicated to the F1 season, aired on the Italian state television as a guest.

For an extensive Biography of Jean, you can visit his website at http://www.jean-alesi.com/myprofile/index.php?lang=en&mode=biography

In addition to the current pics above, a full gallery of both private and F1/DTM related pictures can be found here

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fastfivecars TRIVIA: Own-account sales: the system of company-owned sales and service outlets

OFFICIAL PRESS RELEASE

Stuttgart, Germany, Dec 02, 2008

* Daimler-Motoren-Gesellschaft and Benz & Cie. pioneer the principle of company-owned sales branches

* Direct influence of the manufacturer on all sales activities, including service

* Five company-owned sales and service outlets opened in 1909


The invention of the automobile in 1886 revolutionised individual mobility. At the same time, the product was so unique that the manufacturers fundamentally had to change the distribution channels customary up until then: Benz & Cie. first, and shortly afterwards Daimler-Motoren-Gesellschaft (DMG), introduced the principle of company owned sales and service outlets at the start of the 20th century and, with few exceptions, did away with customary intermediaries, agents and dealers. Own-account sales have been a common principle in the automotive industry ever since.
Throughout the late 19th and early 20th centuries the sale of Mercedes and Benz automobiles were still largely in the hands of independently operating agents or partners. A well-known example is that of the Austrian businessman Emil Jellinek, who resided in Nice and created the brand name Mercedes. Jellinek deserves credit for putting a large number of Mercedes in the hands of well-heeled customers. His importance for DMG grew, until eventually he was purchasing the majority of manufactured vehicles for resale. Furthermore, he had the rights to sell the cars at home and abroad at prices and on terms he himself set. Of course, this made him too assertive in dealings with DMG, and the company began thinking of ways to secure a more direct influence on sales.

In addition, the German economy was not going well in 1906 and 1907; and there was a corresponding decline in the sale of expensive goods, and thus of automobiles. Daimler-Motoren-Gesellschaft wanted complete freedom of action and therefore set the stage to cancel all existing contracts � the one with Emil Jellinek in particular � and clear the way to set up a sales organisation of its own. For the same reasons, and more or less simultaneously, the managers of Benz & Cie. in Mannheim entertained similar ideas and came to the same result: both companies developed a model for company-owned sales and service outlets.

This approach had several advantages. On the one hand, agents no longer had the freedom to fix prices; the manufacturers themselves controlled how, where and at what prices the vehicles would appear on the market. Consistency was what mattered, and so list prices were fixed. On the other hand, in their own salesrooms the manufacturers had direct contact with the wishes and needs of the customers and could bring their products even better into line with popular taste. In addition, in this way they could also guarantee quality of service � an essential sales argument for a manufacture of proprietary goods and products as expensive as the automobile. Last but not least, the manufacturers economised on money that otherwise went to the intermediary trade. It should be said that this own-account sales model put companies far ahead of their time: the arguments for such an approach continue to exercise manufacturers and distributors in other branches of industry to this day.
In 1909 Benz & Cie. and DMG then really began to roll out manufacturer-controlled distribution. The two companies did in fact have single company-owned branches prior to that year, but 1909 saw the establishment of five of them at once: in Berlin, Frankfurt, Dresden, D�sseldorf and Hamburg.

From today's perspective it is clear the system of company-owned sales and service outlets proved to be a success. In the meantime the Mercedes-Benz Sales Organisation Germany as part of Daimler AG is responsible for national sale of the brands Mercedes-Benz, smart, Maybach and Mitsubishi Fuso.

The Berlin branch

The first automobile in Berlin was registered in 1902 � it was a Daimler motorcar with the official registration number IA-1. Daimler-Motoren-Gesellschaft also began manufacturing automobiles in Berlin that year. Also that same year, sales and service offices were opened by Daimler-Motoren-Gesellschaft at K�nigsr�tzer Strasse 7 and by Benz & Cie. Rheinische Gasmotorenfabrik AG Mannheim at Kronenstrasse 55.
As a motor vehicle manufacturer, a presence in the capital city was an absolute must: at the turn of the 20th century, Berlin was the dominant centre of German social, cultural and intellectual life � in other words, the ideal place for an aspiring motor company to open sales outlets at the best possible addresses.

1 January 1909 was named as the official founding day of the Berlin sales and service outlet of Daimler-Motoren-Gesellschaft. On that day, the existing showroom at the prestigious Unter den Linden 78 and a separate repair shop were united at one address. Before that the city office of Benz & Cie. had been renamed "Berlin sales office".

Just a few years later, DMG in Berlin inaugurated a house and showroom that combined sales with brand experience and entertainment � a complete innovation for the day. At Unter den Linden 50/51 the "Mercedes-Haus" opened its doors on 30 September 1913. Apart from a pure presentation of vehicles, the idea was to give expression to the company's performance capabilities and the exclusivity of the Mercedes brand in a sophisticated architectonic setting. And so it proved: the building with its elegant architecture, high-quality furnishings and state-of-the-art equipment, spacious showrooms and an exquisite restaurant, quickly developed into a popular meeting place for Berlin society and was soon christened the "Mercedes Palace".

The "shopping experience" tradition lives on in the capital to this day. At the Salzufer site, in use since 1915, after the old centre was totally demolished, the new headquarters of the Berlin sales and service outlet was erected, opening its doors for business in 2000: covering over 35,500 square metres of floor space, here
Mercedes-Benz has combined a dealership with a brand and event world, where every effort has been taken to give centre stage to the car. In addition, Formula 1 and DTM (German Touring Car Masters) races, as well as major football matches are shown on a giant screen. The Berlin sales and service outlet has a total of nine locations.

The Frankfurt branch office

It is not particularly surprising that automobiles of Gottlieb Daimler and Carl Benz were very soon present in Frankfurt am Main: the city and its environs were home to a comparatively large number of wealthy citizens around 1900. Indicative of this was the tradition of foundations that existed in the city on the river Main, together with the highest number of domestic servants per capita than anywhere else in the German Reich.

During the early years of the 20th century, the people of Frankfurt were even responsible for all German sales of Daimler cars for a short time. In early 1904 the firm Flinsch & Co. acquired the exclusive selling rights for Mercedes cars, initially for Hesse, Hesse-Nassau and northern Germany, and the following year for the whole of Germany. Heinrich and Ferdinand Flinsch themselves handled sales in Frankfurt, Hesse and Hesse-Nassau; sub-agents were responsible for the area surrounding Frankfurt and Wiesbaden and for the Reich, which was divided into eight regions.

In preparation for the system of company-owned sales and service outlets, in 1906 the "Generalvertrieb Deutsche Mercedes-Verkaufs-Gesellschaft GmbH" with headquarters in Frankfurt am Main, established the same year by DMG and others, took over the entire dealer organisation. On 1 April 1908 Ernst Berge was appointed managing director of the Frankfurt sales company for Germany. However, one month later Berge transferred the company's registered office from Frankfurt to Untert�rkheim. The Frankfurt agency was liquidated, but the business premises were retained. The manufacturer acquired Flinsch & Co. and set up a company-owned sales and service outlet in Frankfurt on 1 June 1909.

Since 1996 the Offenbach representational area has also come under the responsibility of Frankfurt: the Frankfurt-Offenbach branch office currently has six locations, one of which stands out in particular, since without it Frankfurt�s inner cityscape would simply not be the same today: compared with conventional branch establishments, the "Mercedes-Benz Spot" with its top central location is tiny, but spreads an aura of understatement particularly well-suited to the brand. It is housed in a striking building at Kaiserstrasse 19-21, very close to the popular shoppers� paradise "Zeil" and the exclusive, pedestrianised Goethestrasse.

The Dresden branch

In its early days, the automobile was not an invention that attracted mass enthusiasm. The vehicles even frightened some road users. But one stratum of the population throughout Europe was particularly fascinated by the car, and it had the wherewithal to buy it: the nobility. In Dresden, for example, the Saxon royal court was very receptive to the new means of transport. Upon his accession to the throne in 1904, Frederick August III bought a Mercedes as his first car.

The most important distributor of automobiles in the region at the time was Robert Vieweg. His company held the sales monopoly for Benz, but also sold Daimler cars. In 1905 Louis Gl�ck became the new Benz & Cie agent and had a salesroom on Prager Strasse. In autumn 1908 the men at Mannheim were planning an outlet of their own in Dresden, which opened on Viktoriastrasse on 1 January 1909.

The sales area of Benz�s Dresden branch encompassed all of Saxony. It soon moved to a better location in the city, to the corner of L�ttichhausstrasse and Sidoniestrasse; the repair shop was located at Nicolaistrasse 19. Separating workshop and sales was also a common practice in other cities.

It very soon became apparent that Saxony was too wide an area for the branch office. Dresden was unable to keep up with deliveries, so it opened a further sales outlet in Leipzig in late 1909 or April 1910 � the exact date is not certain.
At the same time, Daimler too was negotiating to set up an outlet of its own in Saxony's capital city � and it was successful. On 18 January 1909 DMG named the Robert Vieweg dealership in Dresden as its sales outlet; the address was Christianstrasse 39, on the corner of Sidoniestrasse.

Robert Vieweg, then 49 years old, was a motoring pioneer. On 9 October 1909 he even set off for Africa in a 1904 Mercedes. His route took him from Dresden through Italy to Tunis and Algiers, returning via Marseille. 6,900 kilometres later he and his sons reached Dresden again on 21 November. Vieweg wrote about his adventures in a
47-page brochure entitled Autoreise durch Nordafrika (By Car Through North Africa); one of the things he did was to count the number of cars the adventurers met on their tour: 82 in all, nine of them on the 1,774 kilometre stretch through Italy. Vieweg, future purveyor to the court, is also thought to be the first Dresdner to have driven through the city in a Benz: this Saxon automotive pioneer bought himself a Benz Victoria on 20 August 1893.

And the Dresden branch can boast another automotive legend: Rudolf Caracciola, the celebrated driver of the Mercedes-Benz Silver Arrow racing cars, began his career in 1924 as a salesman at the Dresden sales and service outlet of Mercedes-Automobilgesellschaft.

Mercedes-Benz again established a presence in Dresden in late summer 1990 following German reunification. Today the branch office has three locations.

The D�sseldorf branch

The Benz general distributors for Rhineland-Westphalia, Rheinisch-Westf�lische Automobil-Gesellschaft mbH, were headquartered in Cologne. The D�sseldorf territory was handled by the firm of Carl M�hlberger until the end of 1908. On 17 February 1909 a sub-branch of Benz & Cie. was then established in D�sseldorf. The showrooms were located at Graf-Adolf-Strasse 61, the workshop at Pionierstrasse 6.
The proprietor of the Benz dealership, Ernst Ibald from the firm Autopalast Oberhausen, is regarded as a pioneer of the automobile in the Rhineland region. To begin with, the Benz sub-branch employed six or seven white-collar people, around 15 mechanics and two demonstration drivers.

At Daimler-Motoren-Gesellschaft events went as follows: after a variety of agents who had handled sales in the Rhineland, and thus also sold DMG cars in D�sseldorf, Hermann Weingand of D�sseldorf took over the Rhineland, Westphalia, Hanover, Bremen, Oldenburg, Lorraine and Brunswick areas from the Frankfurt Deutsche-Mercedes-Verkaufsgesellschaft in 1906. Vested with this sales monopoly for western Germany, Weingand opened up a showroom at K�nigsallee 100 in D�sseldorf, but also sold Adler cars and Ducellier lighting equipment for cars. In 1910 Daimler-Motoren-Gesellschaft then set up its own branch office in D�sseldorf, also on Graf-Adolf-Strasse � the house number 63�65 showing that Mercedes set up its sales outlet right next door to the competition, Benz.

The salesmen were usually referred to as representatives, as we read in a chronicle on the company-owned sales and service outlets in D�sseldorf. One also learns from the chronicle how salesmen dressed in those days: "The representatives of the DMG and Benz sales outlets wear a double-breasted blue suit and blue peaked cap, as well as driving goggles and in the winter a long, heavy camelhair coat and scarf."
In 1999 the outlets Duisburg, D�sseldorf/Neuss and M�nchengladbach/Krefeld were combined into the Rhine-Ruhr sales and service outlet. Following this linkup, the Mercedes-Benz Rhine-Ruhr branch office with headquarters in D�sseldorf is one of the biggest in the world.

The Hamburg branch

From 1888 onwards, engines and automobiles from both Daimler and Benz were also sold in Hamburg through local agents. As was so often the case in the early days of the automobile, the first car and engine lover in the Hanseatic city was a good friend of Gottlieb Daimler: together with Heinrich Remmer the inventor launched the first motorboats in Hamburg in 1889, as Heinrich Remmer Jr. recalled in a letter in 1958. "This boat caused a tremendous sensation on the Elbe."

In the early years of the 20th century the Hanseatic city of Hamburg first belonged to the territory of the Daimler representation in Berlin-Sch�nefeld, and then to Flinsch & Co. in Frankfurt. The Hamburg sales outlet in the "Nobelshof" was managed in 1902 by the general representative of the Imperial Navy, Alexander Curti. In the far north, of course, there was a particular demand for marine engines. A chronicle of the Daimler Archive for 1903 states: "Daimler marine engines have an excellent status in Hamburg and make for good business."

But neither Alexander Curti nor the next agent, Heinrich Remmer, who sold Daimler motorboats and automobiles along with supplies and equipment for ships at R�dingsmarkt 46, remained sole Daimler agents for long. In 1906 Raffay & Co., which also sold Renault-Fr�res motorcars, took over sales; the offices and garage were located at Klopstockstrasse 2-4. However, a year later Alexander Curti was asked to come to Berlin to head the DMG marine department at Unter den Linden 78.

Daimler-Motoren-Gesellschaft probably had more than one representative at the same time in Hamburg. After a brief period in which Ernst Dello was Daimler agent,
Raffay & Co. got another chance in autumn 1908. May 1909 then marked the birth of the company-owned sales and service outlet: the chronicle of the Daimler Archive reports that the "managing clerk Mr. Brandy" was appointed by the Marienfelde works to head the DMG sales outlet Hamburg.

Benz & Cie. operated on its own a whole year earlier in Hamburg: an entry for 18 February 1908 states that the Mannheim company was the first company of car manufacturers to open a "registered sub-branch in Hamburg, at Am Plan 6, a busy central location", so the Hamburg chronicle tells us. However, at first it was just a "small shop for one vehicle, with an office at the back." The rights of DMG representative Ernst Dello to sell Benz cars also expired when Benz set up its own outlet. Understandably, displaying just one car in such a restricted space was not effective, so Benz & Cie. looked around for other premises, and in the course of the year the outlet was enlarged and in August moved completely to Alsterdamm 12/13.
Today the Mercedes-Benz Hamburg branch office has a presence at five locations.






Copyright � 2008, fastfivecars. All rights reserved.

Daimler Heritage: TOPICS FOR JANUARY 2009

Preview January 2009

PREVIEW OF ANNIVERSARIES 2009

1 January 1929 � 80 years ago:Hans Nibel became chief designer at Daimler-Benz AG. He took over the job from Ferdinand Porsche, who left the company. Nibel and Porsche had worked together from 1925 to 1926 in the design office operated jointly by Benz & Cie. and Daimler-Motoren-Gesellschaft during the joint venture that preceded the 1926 merger which resulted in Daimler-Benz AG. Earlier, Nibel had been chief designer at Benz & Cie. since 1908.


Other notable events

January 1904 � 105 years ago: William K. Vanderbilt set an absolute world speed record of 148.5 km/h for the mile driving a 90 hp Mercedes racing car in Ormond Bay, Daytona, Florida, USA.

16�27 January 1954 � 55 years ago: The Mercedes-Benz 180 D (W 120 series) made its debut at the Brussels Motor Show. The diesel variant of the ultra-modern �Ponton� limousine was to prove extremely successful.

Copyright � 2008, fastfivecars. All rights reserved.

SPY - 2009 E-Klasse Coupe

Copyright � 2008, fastfivecars. All rights reserved.

SPY - 2010 E-Klasse T-Modell - More photos galore

Source:WorldCarFans





Copyright � 2008, fastfivecars. All rights reserved.

Car News: Nissan Fairlady Z revealed for Japan

The car that the rest of us know as the Nissan 370Z is now on sale in its home market, bearing the familiar Fairlady Z nameplate that it�s traditionally worn in Japan. The updated, retro-modern styling, new 247 kW (337 PS) VQ37VHR 3.7-liter V6 and choice of six-speed rev-matching manual or seven-speed automatic transmissions are the same that we saw at the car�s Los Angeles Auto Show debut.

The new, more compact body carries styling cues from classic Fairlady models and distinct �Z� badging. Lightening measures such as aluminum body panels keep the weight down, and the new interior uses higher-quality materials including a new �Forte Suede� cloth. Soft-touch materials make the cabin a friendlier place, and the new Fairlady�s interior has been optimized for performance driving as well. A factory-installed HDD-based CARWINGS navigation system is available.

On-road performance has been increased. In addition to the lightening measures, the car is more powerful, of course. The groundbreaking new transmissions are coupled to an independent suspension and aluminum-caliper opposed-piston Akebono brakes at all four corners. Nissan�s Vehicle Dynamic Control stability control is also standard.

The Fairlady Z�s home-market pricing ranges from 3,622,500 yen ($38K) to 4,462,500 ($47K) yen, including Japan�s consumption tax. Some Japan-specific �performance� specifications that you might not have heard include the Fairlady Z�s 95% recyclability rate, and a reduction of interior volatile organic compounds.

Nissan expects to sell five hundred units a month in Japan. The Fairlady Z goes on sale today at Nissan dealers across Japan, and weekend sales launch events will be held December 6-7 and 13-14.

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