The Briton showed another outstanding result in Portimao on Saturday and qualified 11th on the grid as he narrowly missed Williams’ first appearance in the third quarter since the 2018 Italian Grand Prix by just 0.057 seconds.
And Russell, who wants to recover from his fall at the end of the race with Mercedes driver Valtteri Bottas at Imola last time, is confident that his prospects for the race are in place.
“We were very quick in the first exercise and have only had problems since then,” he said. “Everything came back to life in qualifying.
“I had a lot of confidence and we did a fantastic job of qualifying 11th – it’s our best result in three years on a Saturday – so I’m really happy.”
When asked if he thinks Williams can make a third quarter appearance this year, Russell replied, “No reason why not.
“This was a great opportunity. Last weekend was also a great opportunity. I had problems in Imola all week and we got so close. So that is the goal. “
On the subject of matching items
As the top ranked car on the medium tires, Russell hopes he can get a strong result, provided he doesn’t lose too much ground with a number of soft shod runners starting around him.
“We are on the middle tire for the start tomorrow,” he explained. “The rivals around us who are ahead will be on the softs, which is not a great racing tire. So we’re in a great position.
“It’s about a good start, a good first lap. We have the straight line speed. The guys behind us will really have a hard time overtaking us, so keep your eyes peeled and attack at your maximum. “
