Mercedes have always been stronger on a Sunday this season but the new upgrades brought to the previous race in Monaco appear to have made a sizeable difference.
They were well clear of the Ferrari and Aston Martin cars at the chequered flag, even though they could not touch the championship leader.
"I'm a little bit surprised for sure," Russell said immediately after the Spanish GP. "Kudos to the team for giving me a really good car today.
"That was a fun race for us coming from P12 all the way to P3, it's a sign of things to come, hopefully, for us and the team."