Timo Glock was disappointed to end his Formula 1 comeback race with a violent accident in Melbourne.
The GP2 champion - making his first grand prix start since his brief period with Jordan in 2004 - was holding 10th place when he ran wide out of turn 12 on lap 43 and was launched in the air when his Toyota crossed an access road.
The car landed heavily, and spun down the track at high speed, shedding components all the way and triggering the final safety car period.
"That was a hard way to return to racing in F1," Glock said.
"Given our starting position this was always going to be a difficult afternoon's work."
Glock had qualified ninth, only to receive a double penalty for both changing his gearbox after practice and impeding Mark Webber during the session, leaving him 19th on the grid.
He survived a collision with Nelson Piquet and Giancarlo Fisichella at the start, but was unable to make much progress prior to his accident.
"I had contact with two other cars at the start but despite our heavy fuel load we were able to make up some ground in the early part of the race," he said.
"Still, the car felt a bit strange in terms of understeer and that's what we have to work on to improve the car.
"After the pit stop it was hard work to drive and my race ended with the crash.
"I feel fine but I'm disappointed and we will hope for better fortunes next week."
Jarno Trulli was on course to finish in the top six in the second Toyota when his battery failed at his first pit stop.
"That is a pity because the car felt good and I was doing pretty well," he said.
"I was running comfortably in the points so it is unfortunate to lose out on a scoring start to the year.
"Still, the car is better than last year's and there is performance to come."
Click here to see Glock's spectacular crash on our video highlights page