BMW not planning team orders

The German car manufacturer have three championship contenders in the top five of the grid, and the tough Guia circuit is the kind of place where cars can easily trip over each other.

With both the drivers' and manufacturers' championships wide open, there is a chance that any collision between Andy Priaulx, Dirk Muller or Jorg Muller could wreck BMW's title bid.

But although BMW have refused to introduce specific team orders, motorsport director Mario Theissen has told autosport.com that he has made it clear to all three men that they must not put their teammates at risk if they end up fighting for position.

"So far we have done very little in the respect of team orders," explained Theissen. "We have told our drivers to get the car home, which is very important under the current regulations, to not touch each other and make sure that all the BMWs come home. That is what we did so far.

"Certainly there could be situations where you have to do more (orders) but after qualifying it is probably not necessary and I hope it won't be necessary.

"The most important thing is to make sure the BMW drivers don't fight each other and sacrifice the championship situation."

Theissen has admitted that pole position man Priaulx has a good chance of retaining his crown, and believes the Briton's work ethic has been a key factor in his strong performance this weekend.

"Andy is as good as ever, very well prepared," said Theissen. "He took the right approach yesterday in qualifying, because he knew it would be the first lap that counts because of the red flags and rain.

As usual he was in the best shape. Now certainly he has a great chance to win the championship.

"He has certainly been better prepared (than his rivals), but you are not born better prepared. So it is his work. He is more focused, he does everything he can do certainly better than anyone else and he is a good driver."