WATCH: Russell 'paid the price' as he suffers nightmare end to qualifying in Austin with high-speed spin into the barriers

As the top 10 battled to set their final flying laps of qualifying, George Russell's session came to an early end after he was sent into an immense spin that ended with a heavy crash into the barriers around the Circuit of The Americas.

Taking the role of the lead Mercedes after his team mate Lewis Hamilton was knocked out in Q1, the Briton was pushing hard on his last timed lap as the chequered flag fell on the session.

READ MORE: Norris clinches pole position ahead of Verstappen in Austin as Russell dramatically crashes out in final moments

Heading into Turn 19, which has repeatedly caught drivers out over the weekend, a huge snap of oversteer sent him spinning into the barriers.

While Russell was thankfully uninjured, the right hand side of his W15 took a battering and Max Verstappen and Lando Norris’s crucial timed laps were cut short, sealing the latter's pole position.

Reflecting on the incident, the Mercedes driver said: "I was on a really strong lap. I was five-tenths up at one point but then it went away from me in Sector 3, and then obviously I had the crash.

"It was really disappointing because the team have worked so hard to bring these upgrades to the car, and I was just trying too hard to find something that in all honesty wasn’t there and paid the price. Really quite upset with how that’s ended, but not much more to say."

READ MORE: Downbeat Hamilton says Austin Sprint doesn’t give Mercedes ‘any hope’ for rest of weekend

He also confirmed that the team does not have enough spare parts to replicate the upgrades package before the Grand Prix, although his team mate Lewis Hamilton "kindly offered" to switch the necessary elements.

"Everyone back at base deserves better but we’re all pushing the limits here to try and get the car on the front row and fight for big results," Russell explained. "We achieved it yesterday, and today it’s quite the opposite."