BMW focused on beating Toyota

Toyota's sixth and seventh place finishes in the Japanese Grand Prix has helped the Japanese manufacturer close to within one point of BMW-Sauber for fifth place in the constructors' championship, with just one race remaining.

And with constructors' championship positions proving lucrative in terms of television income and travel money, the fight is crucial to both teams. It is understood that the gap between fifth and sixth in the title chase is worth several millions of pounds.

That is why BMW motorsport director Mario Theissen is determined for his team to keep their advantage in Brazil.

"We came back from the two Asian races with three points and are heading for Brazil and  the final race of the season one point clear of Toyota in the constructors' championship," he said. "We will do everything we can to defend this position."

But even if BMW-Sauber fail in their task of keeping hold of fifth place, Theissen thinks his team have done more than expected of them this season.

"It is quite clear that we have achieved more than we could have expected in our first season with the BMW run team," he said. "In qualifying we made it into the top ten 17 times, and on one occasion even got onto the second row of  the grid.

"In the 17 races so far we have made it into the points 15 times and even taken two podium places, thanks to Nick (Heidfeld) in Budapest and Robert (Kubica) in Monza. The bottom line is  that we are ahead of schedule.

"But even more important than that is the fact that we have  made steady progress during the course of the season. We are on a good path."