Red Bull's triple world champion Max Verstappen and teammate Sergio Perez sat out the unrepresentative session, with Formula E champion Jake Dennis and French F2 driver Isack Hadjar taking their places.
Mercedes' seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton was also absent, replaced by Danish driver Frederik Vesti as teams fulfilled their season's obligations to give track time to rookies in first practice.
Both titles have been won already by Verstappen and dominant Red Bull, with the main battle between Mercedes and Ferrari to be best of the rest.
Russell set the pace in one minute 26.072 seconds on the soft tyres, 0.288 faster than Aston Martin reserve Felipe Drugovich.
Race regular Daniel Ricciardo was third for AlphaTauri with Valtteri Bottas fourth for Alfa Romeo and Canadian Lance Stroll fifth for Aston Martin.
The session meant little given that it was run in the afternoon heat while the race finishes after dark.
"This session is probably the least value session of the year because of the temperature and how it transitions later as the temperatures cool down," Red Bull team boss Christian Horner told Sky Sports television.
"For Jake making that jump from a Formula E car, no wonder he needed to tighten his helmet up after the first run because it's a massive, massive step.
"I thought both of them acquitted themselves very well and we got a lot of very good data."
Robert Shwartzman joined Drugovich as another rookie in the top 10, lapping eighth fastest for Ferrari and less than a tenth off Carlos Sainz's time, with Vesti 12th and Australian Jack Doohan 13th for Alpine.
Doohan had to swerve to avoid the Williams of Logan Sargeant, who was summoned to stewards after the session for alleged erratic driving.
"Almost had the biggest accident of my life," Doohan exclaimed over the team radio. "Yeah, we saw that," came the deadpan reply.
French driver Theo Pourchaire was 14th at the wheel of the second Alfa Romeo, Mexican Pato O'Ward 15th for McLaren and ahead of Dennis and Hadjar, who was forced to go off track to avoid hitting Stroll.
Britain's Zak O'Sullivan took Alex Albon's Williams and was 18th, with compatriot Oliver Bearman bringing up the rear for Haas.
