Third penalty in five races puts Brown in danger zone
Third penalty in five races pushes Will Brown away from Finals bubble
2024 Supercars champion without silverware through five races in 2026
Brown still 42 points outside the top 10 heading into Saturday
Will Brown's action-packed — but not for good reason — start to 2026 has continued with a third penalty in five races, with the 2024 Supercars champion still outside the top 10.
A collision with Cooper Murray at Turn 11 on Friday garnered a 15 second penalty for Brown, who was hit with penalties in Sydney for spinning his wheels in his stop, and a clash with Anton De Pasquale.
For one of the best racers on the grid, it has been a shock to see Brown so erroneous through the first two rounds, with the Red Bull Ampol racer still 42 points outside the top 10.
It could have been worse on Friday, with Brown surviving a clash with Cameron Hill at the final corner amid a wild clash that also included Anton De Pasquale, Chaz Mostert and Andre Heimgartner. A day earlier, Brown also dodged a bullet in a last lap clash with Cam Waters.
In contrast, Brown led the points leaving Melbourne 12 months ago, and won the Larry Perkins Trophy for the second year in a row.
Where the spinning wheel and De Pasquale penalties had elements of grey area, Friday's clash with Murray was enough for Brown to drop to 21st in the final classification. leaving him with a race average of 13.8.
What's more, is that Brown has been beaten by teammate Broc Feeney in all five Boost Mobile Qualifying sessions, and all five races.
Brown has qualified eighth, 13th, fifth, 12th and 10th versus Feeney's fourth, ninth, first, third and fifth. In the races, Brown has seventh, 14th, 18th, eighth and 21st to Feeney's first, sixth, first, third and seventh.
While still only five races, it's the longest Brown has gone without a podium to start a season since he went without silverware through the first 24 races of 2022. He needed three races in 2023, one in 2024, and two in 2025.
Brown's issues are also affecting Red Bull Ampol Racing on the scoreboard, with Penrite Racing now 72 points clear atop the teams' championship.
Brown, meanwhile, sits 13th in the Larry Perkins Trophy standings, 99 points behind dual winner Brodie Kostecki.
On-track action tomorrow begins with back-to-back Boost Mobile Qualifying sessions at 9:00am and 9:22am, before Race 6 of the 2026 Repco Supercars Championship begins at 5:40pm local time.
