Todt has enjoyed great success with his Ferrari team

Mosley has written to presidents of the member clubs of FIA's general assembly backing Todt's suitablity for the post, according to F1 Racing.

Mosley told the magazine he hopes Todt would see the "fascination" of a wider political role after he leaves Ferrari.

"He'd be very effective. In fact, I think he'd be brilliant," Mosley said.

"Todt has worked and won in every major branch of motorsport. I think he's the only person who's done that."

Mosley added that he would consider Todt for the role of his deputy as a means of grooming him for the top job.

"If for some reason Marco Piccinini didn't want to continue in the role of deputy president of the FIA, and Todt wanted it, and he was no longer working for Ferrari, then it would be very foolish of me to say no," Mosley said.

Mosley believes Todt has the experience required for the top job

F1 team bosses Frank Williams and Ron Dennis both said at the Spanish Grand Prix that they thought Todt would find it difficult to be objective considering his strong links with Ferrari.

The Frenchman has worked for the team since 1993 and has been in charge through a number of controversial rows involving Ferrari's rivals and the F1 rules.

Mosley's faces an election campaign for the FIA presidency in 2005, when his current term runs out.

And triple F1 world champion and former team boss Sir Jackie Stewart has been mentioned as a possible opponent.

But Mosley, who has long had a difficult relationship with the Scot, was dismissive of Stewart's credentials for the post.

"I'm not sure he'd know what the job entails," Mosley said.

"The fact that you're a one-time racing driver, even a very good one, probably wouldn't, in itself, be good enough.

"But I can think of a few other former racing drivers who have more in-depth understanding of modern motorsport, and a better appreciation of the politics of international sport [than Stewart]."