Kimi Antonelli produced an impressive final lap in the closing stages of final practice to go quickest at the Bahrain GP in Malaysia.
The title leader was looking more comfortable at Sepang, setting a time of 1:36.302.
Red Bull’s Max Verstappen finished two-tenths behind, with his teammate Isack Hadjar in third.
Russell initially was in second after his flying lap, but finished the session fourth-fastest, over six-tenths off Antonelli’s pace.
Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton finished in fifth and sixth respectively.
Qualifying for the race goes green at 9 a.m. BST.
