Albon collided with the wall at turns six and seven following a crash on Friday, leaving his FW46 with serious damage to the chassis, engine and gearbox. Sargeant, meanwhile, escaped the opening two practice sessions unscathed.

However, due to the absence of a spare chassis, Williams team principal James Vowles was forced to withdraw one car from the race on Sunday.

Due to the gulf in performance between Albon and Sargeant during their time as team-mates thus far, the decision was made for the former to drive in the Australian GP, despite the fact that his car was the one destroyed in the crash.

Explaining the reasoning for his decision, Vowles said: “While Logan should not have to suffer from a mistake that he did not make, every race counts when the midfield is tighter than ever, so we have made the call based on our best potential to score points this weekend.

“This decision was not made lightly, and we cannot thank Logan enough for his graceful acceptance, demonstrating his dedication to the team; he is a true team player. This will prove a tough weekend for Williams, and this situation is not one that we will put ourselves in again.”

Since partnering up at the Grove-based outfit, Albon has enjoyed the better of the team-mate battle. The 27-year-old scored 27 of Williams’ 28 points in 2023 and performed a clean sweep in the qualifying head-to-head.

Offering his thoughts, Sargeant said: “This is the hardest moment I can remember in my career and it’s absolutely not easy. I am however completely here for the team and will continue to contribute in any way that I can this weekend to maximise what we can do.”

The 23-year-old American endured a difficult rookie campaign in 2023 but was handed a vote of confidence by Vowles, who offered him a one-year contract extension. However, this incident shows that Sargeant still has a long way to go to be considered on equal footing to Albon at Williams.