Vettel promises to 'attack' in the race

The 20-year-old German, who was an impressive sixth fastest in Q2, aborted to the pits with a reported problem with his oil pump before even setting a time in the top ten shoot-out.

"In one sense this was a good session as I had a strong pace in Q2," he said. "I had a good lap at the end of it.

"Unfortunately, a technical problem meant I could not take part in Q3, but whatever happens I plan to attack to the maximum in the race."

Four-time Champ Car champion Sebastien Bourdais paid the price for a lack of running time in free practice at Melbourne and qualified 18th for his Formula One debut.

"The car felt really solid this afternoon compared to the morning when we struggled to put everything together because of the limited running I had yesterday," he said. "We made a few changes for the afternoon and I felt we were right on the money.

"My first run was good on the prime tyre and I was competitive. Then on the first set of option tyres, I had a really good lap until unfortunately I made a mistake at the second to last corner, which ruined it.

"I had another try towards the end of Q1 but there was a yellow flag which cost me too much time. A shame, as I felt I could have been in Q2."