On course for the best result of his fledgling GP career - and Williams' best finish in ages - Pastor Maldonado put it in the wall on the final lap in Australia.
It was a heartbreaking finish for the Venezuelan as he was running in P6 and pushing Fernando Alonso in front of him when he put his wheels on the artificial grass and lost control of his car.
The 27-year-old says he just lost the back of his FW35 during the final lap and was forced to go off the track.
"The car looked good today," he said.
"Our pace was quick and consistent and we were looking competitive right up until the moment I had on the last lap, which is very important. Unfortunately, I just lost the back of the car while pushing Alonso and I had nowhere to go."
Team-mate Bruno Senna made a torrid start and was never able to recover.
After starting P14 on the grid, the Brazilian was forced to retire after his car was damaged during an incident on the opening lap.
"I had a great start, but I tried to take the outside line at the first corner and I felt someone make contact with me," Senna said.
"I then had to do an extra pit stop which made things difficult. My race was looking better but then I had a tangle with Massa so luck wasn't on our side today. That's racing though, and we now look forward to making up for it in Malaysia next weekend."
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