Russell set a best time of a 1m12.000s on his first run of the session and, although he couldn't improve with his second run, the Mercedes driver secured his second career pole position.
Max Verstappen set an identical lap time to the Briton but, by virtue of setting the effort after Russell was forced to settle for second on the grid, with Lando Norris third for McLaren.
Oscar Piastri will line up alongside his team-mate, with RB's Daniel Ricciardo and Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso filling out the third row, making it five teams in the top six positions.
