Willi Weber
Friedrich Wilhelm " Willi" Weber ( born March 11, 1942 in Regensburg ) is a German entrepreneur, sports manager and former race car driver. The former car dealer, restaurateur and racing stable operator specializing in the course of the 1990s to the global advocacy of celebrities and athletes - mainly from the automotive sport. Among his most famous clients included alongside Michael Schumacher (until 2010) and his brother Ralf (until 2006), Timo Scheider, Jutta Kleinschmidt, Nico Hulkenberg (until 2011 ) and the top model Naomi Campbell.
Career
Weber discovered already as a teenager, his business acumen and traded with disused army uniforms. After a hotel management teaching, he initially built on a used car trade, before turning back to zuwendete the catering and hotel industry, where he gradually worked his way up from simple employee to manager.
Formula 3 racing team, encounter with Michael Schumacher
In 1983, the hobby racer with the engineer Klaus Trella the Formula 3 racing team (WTS Weaver Trella Stuttgart). 1988 his driver and pupil Joachim Winkelhock was German champion. In the autumn of the same year he met at a talent search in the Austrian city of Salzburg Ring, where he was looking for a successor to angle Hock, know the young driver and Formula Ford runner-up Michael Schumacher and was immediately convinced of its above-average skills. Weber hired as a pilot for Schumacher made his Formula 3 team, although this brought no financial means. In return, he took over its management, band Schumacher for ten years in and demanded 20 percent of the potential revenue of the racer, so it pays to be risk. Later, the German press made it the nickname " Mr. 20 percent. "
In the late 1980s, Weber alongside his Formula 3 racing team over twenty pubs in Germany, but had to take care, which was in 1990 with WTS German Formula 3 champion more and more to the concerns of his protege Schumacher. Weber financed the Kerpener entry into the professional motorsport and brought him in the late summer of 1991 in Jordan in Formula 1 below. Michael Schumacher was in the next few years with seven world titles and 91 Grand Prix victories the most successful driver in Formula 1 history and earned up to his temporary retirement in 2006, an estimated half a billion euros.
After the comeback of Michael Schumacher in the 2010 Weber handed over the management tasks after more than 20 years of cooperation Schumacher's former media consultant Sabine Kehm.
A1 Team Germany
In autumn 2005 Weber founded the A1 Team Germany for the newly created A1GP series. Already in its second season, the team with the drivers Nico Hülkenberg and Christian Vietoris with a total of nine wins champion. However, Weber ended in September 2008, his involvement in the series, so the team at the start of the season in October could not attend and later reappeared in the season, under new management.
Stint as a race car driver
Weber began in 1984 in a VW Scirocco into a single race in the German Touring Car Championship. The 16th place at the Nurburgring brought him 6 points, which meant the 46th place in the overall standings. Between 1985 and 1986, Weber went to the German Formula 3 Championship at the start. In the first year he drove a team of Sonax Car Care or McGregor Racing Team Ralt RT3 used with Volkswagen engine and was three points 24, the second year for Team Boessinger safe buildings he remained no points. 1987 was Weber in the EFDA Formula 3 Euro Series WTS Racing in two races score a point. Other inserts it did not.
Accusation of infidelity
On 17 July 2007 Weber was accused by the prosecution Koblenz for incitement to infidelity in a particularly severe case. He is the Dierdorfer company led pole position Merchandising ( PPM) to financial transactions in 2001, in which a plurality of creditors by a total of 1.1 million euros have been cheated. At the trial on 29 September 2008 Weber admitted his guilt and was sentenced by the district court (LG) Koblenz to one year probation and fined in the amount of 720,000 euros. He also was indicted on September 16, 2008 for embezzlement and willful bankruptcy in connection with the PPM collapse of the Stuttgart prosecutor's office. In August 2010, Weber was sentenced to two years probation and ordered to pay 360,000 euros to charities and in the insolvency of one of his companies for Insolvenzverschleppung the Landgericht Stuttgart.
Gastronomy
Opened in 1999, Weber as a passionate gastronome be gourmet restaurant Weber 's Gourmet in the tower in Stuttgart TV Tower, but this project ended after a few years.