The German, who missed the first races of the season in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia due to a positive Covid test, lost control on curbing at turn five and veered into a wall on the 29th lap. Starting 17th on the grid and having barely had any time in the seat of his car, Vettel was up against it at Albert Park.
His car lost power near the end of the first free practice on Friday and he was forced to miss the entire second session while repairs were made. He crashed out of Saturday's final practice after a handful of laps, then barely had time to complete a flying lap during qualifying.
"It was more challenging not to have the running, obviously partly because we lost time with the car, and then with the Saturday morning incidents (it) doesn't help," he said in the Albert Park paddock. "But I'm sure it will get better. It can't get any worse."
His Canadian teammate Lance Stroll finished 12th after starting at the back of the grid but also had a poor weekend overall. He was given a grid penalty on Saturday for crashing into Nicholas Latifi's Williams car and then a five-second penalty on Sunday for weaving on the straight during the race.
Aston Martin are now the only team yet to score a point this season. Vettel said things could only get better.
"Obviously we now have a lot of parts that are damaged. I'm sure we'll have a better weekend next time around," said the German.
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