The 23-year-old Briton, who will start 12th on the grid in Imola, switched to the push mode of his Mercedes engine in the first quarter when he climbed sideways and ran over the gravel.
He tried to keep the change until the last possible moment in order to get the maximum benefit from his flying lap.
Thinking about the loss of concentration, he compared himself to former Williams driver Maldonado, who made 58 F1 starts for the team between 2011 and 2013 in an eventful Grand Prix career.
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“It’s no secret that Mercedes has struggled a little with battery usage and every single meter gives you one meter at the end of the lap,” Russell explained after training.
“So I wanted to switch to this mode as late as possible, like in the middle of the corner, before I picked up the power.
“The tires were a bit cold, I wasn’t fully focused. It added to a Pastor Maldonado moment!”
Russell recovered later in the session, finishing second in the second quarter, though he got past just in time to hit the checkered flag.
“I think I only crossed the flag two seconds, two or three seconds,” he revealed.
“I had Danny [Ricciardo] right behind me. He intended to overtake me with the DRS.
“And because of the straight-line speed I was able to stay in front of him – I managed to get faster and stay in front of him. Very relieved, but it was a good lap.”
George Russell, Williams
Photo by: Charles Coates / Motorsport Images
Russell did a very strong lap on medium tires early in the second quarter. He was so comfortable that he was tempted to do another run on media, but the team decided to save a new set for the race.
So he went for softs and logged in 12th place on the grid.
“I actually wanted to do my second set on the medium tire because I was P10 or P11 on a medium at the time, which was pretty surprising,” he said.
“We obviously opted for the soft and improved by three tenths.
“It was still a very good lap, so overall very satisfied with the second quarter in P12. It was better than expected before practice.”
Russell is confident he can make up for last year’s disappointment at Imola when he lost a potential points finish in an accident under the safety car.
“I would say the car looks better for the racing equipment than the qualifying equipment,” he said.
“We have the fastest car on the straight so everything looks promising. But that’s the real pace of the car.
“This may be one of our better tracks, but I hope and expect this for most of the season, in the middle of the second quarter and hopefully at points that struggle for the third quarter.”
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