Ferrari President Luca Di Montezemolo will be the official starter at the Le Mans 24 Hour race this coming weekend. He will be joined at the French classic by Stefano Domenicali fuelling speculation that Ferrari are preparing to re-enter the iconic sportscar event in the near future.

The Scuderia has a proud history at Le Mans having won the endurance race nine times and is second only to Porsche in the all-time rankings. Ferrari was dominant throughout the early sixties but hasn’t taken part in the leading prototype class as a factory team since 1973.

There will be ten Ferrari’s on the grid for this year’s 24 hour race, but they are all F430’s entered by privateers in the GT2 class and will not challenge for outright honours. If Ferrari was going to enter Le Mans with a factory backed team, they would almost certainly challenge for overall victory in the LMP1 ‘prototype’ division.

Many view Di Montezemolo’s gesture as a signal that Ferrari is serious about quitting Formula One if the proposed 2010 rules aren’t changed. However, regardless of the current political wrangling between FOTA and the FIA, there are a number of reasons why a full scale factory backed assault on Le Mans could be hugely beneficial to Ferrari.

Firstly, they can afford it. Whilst most car manufacturers are losing money at the moment, Ferrari’s sales are actually growing. Parent company FIAT is also spending aggressively during the economic downturn which suggests there is little stopping the men at Maranello from a commercial point of view.

This is particularly evident when you consider that Ferrari will be saving hundreds of millions of dollars over the next few years in a cheaper version of Formula One. If the proposed budget cap goes ahead it will instantly place 200 million dollars on their bottom line, but even FOTA’s alternative proposals to the cap will save the big spending teams huge amounts of cash.

If anything, a serious Le Mans effort could actually turn into a real money maker.

Apparently there are a number of major corporations who have previously expressed an interest in F1 sponsorship with Ferrari, only to be repelled by the association with Marlboro cigarettes. Therefore, a Le Mans team could attract new blue chip sponsors to Ferrari without tobacco advertising being an issue. A mega-bucks deal with someone like Coca-Cola or McDonalds would be great for the business and would ensure the team had plenty of resources at their disposal.

Not that resourcing would ever be an issue anyway.

With the FIA dramatically cutting costs in F1, the teams will be forced to cut back their racing workforce. However, rather than laying off staff and creating redundancies, Ferrari could easily move their displaced workers onto a sportscar program instead. A few years ago the company was voted the best place to work in Italy so Ferrari would probably prefer to give their existing staff a new project rather than sack them, especially if they can afford to do so.

It would also ensure the ingenuity and skills of their employees are maintained within the Ferrari family.

Another commercial point worth considering is that Ferrari will launch the successor to their Enzo road car next year. A direct link between the new supercar and a Le Mans campaign would be a great promotional tool.

For arguments sake, let’s assume that Ferrari revive the ‘Dino’ designation for their new supercar (quite an appropriate follow up to the Enzo I think). They could then name their Le Mans prototype the Dino as well, and even though there would be little technical correlation between the two cars, it would be a very powerful branding exercise. It would certainly emphasise the racing pedigree in the new road car.

New Ferrari’s will always be a popular with the uber rich but the top end sportscar market is still very competitive. A number of high performance models will go on the market next year, including the new McLaren supercar, so Ferrari will need something special to ensure they remain the industry leader.

A Le Mans inspired concept would go a long way towards guaranteeing that.

Aside from the marketing benefits for Ferrari, there is also a sporting advantage to be gained from racing at the Circuit De La Sarthe.

A Le Mans campaign would give Ferrari’s engineers the opportunity to run more development that would indirectly assist the F1 program. Sportscar regulations offer technical freedoms that no longer exist in Formula One, so Ferrari might find that the best developments for the F1 team come from ideas born during their Le Mans crusade. A sportscar team would certainly be a great training ground for future F1 personnel.

Of course, a Le Mans operation would be more valuable to Ferrari if it was successful, and the team’s best chance to make a big impression could be right now.

Peugeot and Audi are currently cutting back their sportscar efforts due to the global financial crisis, which means any newcomer (or returnee) would have a good chance of being competitive against them right away.

Ferrari also has a few aces up their sleeve when it comes to driving talent.

Even if there is no issue with Ferrari’s 2010 Formula One entry, the team could still have two of the world’s best drivers on contract without a place to put them.

There is a chance that Kimi Raikkonen will be replaced by Fernando Alonso next year leaving the 2007 World Champion out of a job. It is unlikely that Kimi would then seek employment with another F1 team having achieved his goals and made his money, especially since he seems tired of the politics and pressure that go with F1 life. Raikkonen would happily return to rallies, snowmobiles, speedboats, and whatever else in Finland takes his fancy.

A prototype Ferrari drive at Le Mans would therefore be very attractive to him. It would give Kimi to chance to race an awesome piece of machinery against the very best drivers in the world, without having to commit his whole way of life to it. It suits him perfectly.

He would also get to keep his Ferrari contract which would be far less embarrassing then being sacked outright.

That works well for Ferrari as well because Kimi Raikkonen has a cult popularity that is still valuable to them.

Alongside Raikkonen, Ferrari also has another driver under contract that could slot into their Le Mans team quite nicely.

Michael Schumacher.

The most successful driver of all time is still an awesome racer and is easily one of the best in the world, even in retirement. Just like Raikkonen, a Le Mans drive suits him very well. It would reunite Schumacher with the Ferrari family and would let him compete at the highest level without having to make a big life changing commitment. He is seeking new challenges at the moment, such as motorcycling, so Le Mans might be the test of skill he is craving.

Schumacher was partly pushed out of Ferrari by Raikkonen at the end of 2006 so he might like the chance to compare himself against the Finn to prove a point if nothing else.

Can you imagine a fully fledged Ferrari Le Mans campaign with Michael Schumacher and Kimi Raikkonen behind the wheel?

Throw Valentino Rossi in the car with them and you’ve got yourself the greatest team of racing talent the world has ever seen.

Wouldn’t that be awesome?!

That dream team of drivers is incredibly unlikely. Any one of those three would be doubtful, but a Ferrari prototype racing at Le Mans is still a possibility.

Ferrari can afford it and they can utilise a sportscar program to make use of the resources they’re losing from F1. They could generate income from the exercise, the development would benefit their Grand Prix program, and would also help promote their new supercar.

Luca Di Montezemolo will surely have some more thoughts on that next week.