diff --git a/pypesto/optimize/ess/sacess.py b/pypesto/optimize/ess/sacess.py
index 296d20473..140ffe0ac 100644
--- a/pypesto/optimize/ess/sacess.py
+++ b/pypesto/optimize/ess/sacess.py
@@ -1278,7 +1278,7 @@ def __call__(
         """Create a :class:`IpoptOptimizer` instance."""
 
         options = self._ipopt_options.copy()
-        if np.isfinite(max_eval):
+        if np.isfinite(max_walltime):
             options["max_wall_time"] = max_walltime_s
 
         # only accepts int