Russell confused with Friday in Canada: 'It's been a strange day'

"It's been a strange day," Russell told F1TV after FP2 this evening, before adding: "It was a reasonably productive session, [but] I don't think anyone can read too much into the timings. We did our low fuel prep towards the end when the track was faster and it's bumpy."

When questioned about the differences between Canada and Barcelona, the Brit went on to explain how different the circuits really are and how the upgrades brought to Spain have helped, he said: "Between Barcelona and here, they are two totally different circuits. Barcelona smooth. Here it is really bumpy. I think the upgrades we [fully] introduced in Barcelona have helped the limitations that we would've had more of with the old spec."

Mercedes and Russell have only best second in qualifying so far this year, and he believes that "we [Mercedes] are still on the tail end on qualifying pace compared to Aston Martin and Ferrari. Valtteri looked quick, maybe an Alpine, but we know it comes to us on Sunday. We are here to achieve big results. We were strong here in qualifying last year, let's see what tomorrow brings."

Russell has fans in the pit lane

To round out, Russell joked with F1TV explaining how Daniel Ricciardo was joking around with the Brit whilst he was in the pit lane and said that it was "around the Red Bull area as well so they need to check the video to see if an investigation is required."