Morning rain at Zandvoort left the track damp for the start of final practice, but it dried quickly and the session began calmly with only a few cars heading out. Isack Hadjar was first to try the conditions on intermediate tyres before returning to the pits, while several others tested either slicks or inters as the circuit continued to improve.

Kimi Antonelli set the first timed lap for Mercedes before Nico Hulkenberg and Fernando Alonso briefly went to the top, but once again the McLarens looked strongest. Norris and Piastri traded quickest laps through the middle of the session, Norris edging back ahead after his teammate had briefly stolen P1. Antonelli meanwhile reported a problem with his gearbox, cutting his running short.

As the final 15 minutes approached, most teams switched to soft tyres for qualifying runs. Norris lowered the benchmark to a 1:08.972, with Piastri just over two tenths behind. George Russell moved up to third, the closest challenger to the McLarens, while Carlos Sainz put his Williams into fourth ahead of home hero Max Verstappen in fifth.

There were still moments of drama. Verstappen and Pierre Gasly held each other up down the straight in a messy exchange, while Alonso and Russell nearly collided in the pit entry when the Mercedes suddenly darted right to enter the lane. Race control noted the incident for later review.

At the flag Norris topped the timesheets for the third session in a row, leading another McLaren one-two with Piastri second. Russell was third, followed by Sainz, Verstappen, Leclerc, Albon, Stroll, Hadjar and Alonso rounding out the top ten.