Max Verstappen made it a clean sweep of all three practice sessions by leading FP3 at the Mexico City Grand Prix.
The reigning world champion posted a 1m17.887s to pip an impressive Alex Albon by just 0.07s in second for Williams with Sergio Perez third in the second Red Bull.
The session got off to a slow start with Russell setting the early pace while many opted to stay in the garage for the opening 15 minutes.
Warm and breezy conditions meant grip was limited with several drivers sliding and Pierre Gasly having a spin at Turn 12 entering the stadium section.
Verstappen headed out and displaced Russell at the top on the second flying lap of his initial soft tyre run.
Also showing strong pace was Daniel Ricciardo in fourth place on the mediums after enjoying a nice tow from teammate Yuki Tsunoda down the long main straight.
The Williams pair would be first to fit a second set of tyres with Alex Albon jumping to the top with the first 1m17s lap of the weekend.
No one could match the Thai driver initially, with Russell almost three-tenths back after his first lap on fresh rubber.
However, Verstappen spoiled Albon's party by going P1 by just 0.07s after complaining about traffic on his fast lap.
Home favourite Sergio Perez moved upto third in the second Red Bull ahead of Russell and Oscar Piastri in fifth after completing a second flying lap on his second set of tyres.
Valtteri Bottas sat a strong sixth for Alfa Romeo, followed by Yuki Tsunoda in seventh despite a guaranteed back-of-the-grid start due to new power unit components.
Lando Norris was eighth as Ricciardo slipped to ninth and Lewis Hamilton completed the top 10 for Mercedes.
Further down, the two Ferraris didn't manage a clean lap on their second set with Charles Leclerc blocked by Kevin Magnussen and Carlos Sainz spinning to avoid Lance Stroll in the Esses section.
As a result, Leclerc was only 13th and Sainz 15th with Stroll's Aston Martin between them.
Logan Sargeant finished 11th ahead of Zhou Guanyu. Nico Hulkenberg was 16th as Fernando Alonso's miserable weekend continued in 17th.
Gasly was 18th with Magnussen and Esteban Ocon slowest as Alpine struggled for pace.
