The Briton started on pole position at the Shanghai International Circuit and finished ahead of Ferrari duo Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton after a late safety car period in Saturday's 19-lap race.
Russell won the season-opening Australian Grand Prix last weekend in a Mercedes one-two.
Leclerc finished 0.674 seconds behind Russell on Saturday after an earlier battle with Hamilton, as Ferrari had two cars in the top three of a Formula One race of any sort for the first time since the end of 2024.
Hamilton and Russell battled for the lead early on with four changes of lead in the opening five laps before the Mercedes driver made a move that stuck and secured the eight points available for a sprint win.
"Lewis did an amazing job in the in the early laps," Russell said. "He caught me off guard — 20 years of experience. So I've still got a bit to learn."
"It was pretty fun in the end," Russell added. "A lot of strategy in play and overtakes. It's not easy. I hope it was fun race to watch. Usually the sprint races are pretty boring."
McLaren's reigning world champion Lando Norris finished fourth with Mercedes' Kimi Antonelli fifth after serving a 10-second penalty for a clash with Red Bull's Isack Hadjar on the opening lap.
After crashing and failing to make the start in his home grand prix last weekend, Piastri was sixth for McLaren with New Zealander Liam Lawson seventh for Racing Bulls and Oliver Bearman taking the final point for Haas.
Russell now has 33 points with Antonelli and Leclerc tied on 22 and Hamilton on 18.
Formula 1 has made massive engine and chassis changes for this season — the most radical in a decade — that feature a 50-50 split between internal combustion and electric power.
Drivers have struggled to handle the cars when electric power kicks in and the need to trade off between using power and conserving it.
One of those struggling drivers is four-time world champion Max Verstappen, who is no fan of the changes. He finished ninth in the sprint race Saturday, more than 11 seconds behind Russell.
"Everything that could go wrong, did go wrong," Verstappen said. "We just need to get our stuff together."
